


The Heart of Atlantis

by Crossovers_and_Randomness



Series: Beyond the Universe [3]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Atlantis, Gen, Minor Character Death, Multiverse, Ocean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:14:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24048769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crossovers_and_Randomness/pseuds/Crossovers_and_Randomness
Summary: The Doctor, Rey, and BB8 find themselves on a prosperous island that calls itself Atlantis, the city of legend. But they soon discover that the tropical paradise is not the utopia it seems to be, and that a dark secret is hidden at its heart, a secret that threatens to send the island spinning towards its fate and endanger the world itself.
Series: Beyond the Universe [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1734793
Kudos: 4





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly I’m kind of surprised Doctor Who hasn’t done something like this before. It just…..seems like something that would happen on the show. The lost city of Atlantis….it’s practically made for a Doctor Who story. xD Or maybe it has? If this is a thing that’s actually happened on the show please correct me so I can acknowledge that I’m a bad geek. xD

“And we’re here!” The Doctor slammed a lever forward and felt the TARDIS settle into place beneath him with a slight thump. He turned, crossing his arms and leaning against the edge of the console with a little grin. “Shall we?”

There was no answer.

He turned, raising an eyebrow. “Rey?”

“Almost finished!” Her voice echoed from a door which stood slightly open at the back of the room. He heard a _thump,_ followed by a loud snap like that of a metal part snapping into place. Footsteps echoed from the doorway and she emerged into the console room, a staff in her hands.

His eyebrows shot up and he just stared at her for a long moment. Then he cleared his throat. “Where—where’d you get that?”

“I made it.” She slid the slender weapon into a holster at her back and started past him to the door. “Where are we?” she said, turning back, her eyes shining, unable to restrain the little excited grin that threatened to burst across her face. 

“Er—I don’t think you’re going to need that.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Need what?”

“The weapon.”

“I might.” For a moment she just looked at him, and the smile drooped a little. “What’s wrong, Doctor?”

“Is that….” He raked his fingers through his hair, staring. “Is that part of a _sonic screwdriver_?”

She shrugged. “It didn’t work. I tested it.”

“You. You tested it. Alright. Is that—” His eyes widened. “Is that part of _my old console?_ ”

“Found it lying around.” She turned to the door, a little smile of excitement dancing around her lips. “Doctor—”

“Oh, _alright._ Carry a weapon if you have to. But I don’t think—”

Before he could finish, she was out the door, his voice trailing off behind her. A cool breeze—smelling of something unfamiliar and fresh—met her and she looked down to find herself standing on white sand. She caught her breath, not quite daring to hope—and stepped around the edge of the TARDIS. A beach spread out in front of her, waves lapping onto the shore, murmuring and whispering along the sand. 

And the ocean stretched out in a sheet of shimmering blue until it met the sky in a perfect line. 

Before she could stop herself, she was off across the sand, splashing into the gentle waves that lapped along the shoreline. For a moment she just stood there, letting the water splash across her feet—and staring out over the endless, ever-moving sheet of blue, her breath catching in her throat at the sight.

“The sea…” Her eyes were misty. “I’ve heard stories…” Her voice trailed off and she looked down, watching as the water swirled around her feet. Reaching down, she trailed her fingers in the waves as they receded along the shore in a swirl of white foam. 

With a curious beep, BB8 bumped against her ankles. “Go on,” she said with a little laugh, making shooing motions with her hands. “You’ll get wet.”

He rolled backwards with a startled beep as a wave washed towards him and retreated off across the sand, letting out a series of beeps and whistles warning of the dangers of the ocean and everything connected to it. Smiling a little, she turned back to the ocean, shading her eyes against the late-morning sun as it sparkled off of the water like so many tiny diamonds.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath and spreading her arms out as if the catch the sea breeze. She had heard tales of watery planets, shining like blue jewels in the sky, but she had never imagined—a little sigh escaped her lips and she felt as if she could plop down on the beach and stare over the waters forever, watching the ever-moving, ever-changing waves and smelling the sea air.

It smelled of adventures and faraway lands.

Her eyes popped open and she turned to the TARDIS, a grin bursting across her face. The Doctor stood leaning against the edge of the blue box, a little smile touching his lips, his hands in his pockets and his coat flapping gently. Her eyes shining, she raised a hand, beckoning him to join her.

He raised an eyebrow and grinned, jerking his head towards the mainland. Shielding her eyes against the sun, she followed his gaze—and caught her breath at the sight.

The sand sloped upward until it leveled off into a plain of dark, rich soil. Sea grasses—greener than anything she had ever seen—waved in the breeze, blocking from view the doors of several houses. The sun glinted off of the windows of what must have been a thousand more houses, and in the distance she thought she could hear the murmur of a crowd. And rising from the cluster of homes and buildings, a giant tower shot into the sky like the point of a needle, the sun glinting and glittering off of its sides.

Leaving the sea behind with a last, reluctant glance, she started up the beach. “Where are we?” she asked, stepping to the Doctor’s side. “What is this place?”

“No idea!” He shot her a wild smirk. “Isn’t it great?”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got to have some idea. You brought us here.”

He shrugged. “TARDIS does what she wants. Most of the time.” He shot her a little half-grin and held out a hand. “Shall we?”

She smiled and slipped her hand into his, and together they started up the slope towards the city. The grasses parted before them—unable to resist it, she reached down and picked the tip of one, turning it over in her fingers and finally sniffing it—and the city spread out before them. The sun shone—so bright it almost hurt—off of houses and buildings of white stone which stretched out in clusters and chains across the mainland.

“And what manner of stranger emerges from the sea-grass like some long-sleeping being of old?” A young woman’s voice called her gaze away from the shining city and she turned to see a girl, just a bit younger than her, approaching. She wore a bright, flowy dress which swished about her as she moved, and her blonde curls were piled on top of her head and held in place with glittering crystal pins. Her eyes twinkled and a little smirk tugged at her lips as she stepped forward.

“Oh—hello there! A native, brilliant!” The Doctor held out a hand with a grin. “I’m the Doctor and this is—”

“—I’m Rey.”

“Alexa.” She laughed, looking them up and down. “Welcome to the island, travelers.”

“Oh, is it that obvious?” The Doctor smirked. “You’ve discovered our secret. Bit lost here—we’ve managed to land ourselves on the shores of this lovely—er—island, you say? And what island is that?”

Her eyebrows shot up. “You must be from far away indeed!” she said, and her voice was tinged with incredulous wonder. “For who hasn’t heard of the great city of Atlantis?”

“Atlantis?” He stared at her, a slow grin spreading across his face. “This is Atlantis—the city of Atlantis itself? Rey—Rey! Did you hear that? We’ve landed on the shores of Atlantis! The lost city of Atlantis!” He grinned like an excited puppy and his eyes sparkled like a little boy who had just been set loose in a toy shop. “It’s a real, living place! Well, not the city itself, that would be strange, but the people…”

Rey stared up at him. “Um—Doctor. It’s not….lost…? What do you mean—”

“Oh—ooooh.” His eyes went wide and the smile dropped from his face. He raked his fingers through his hair. “Nothing,” he said. “Nothing at all.” Shoving his hands in his pockets, he stared out across the city.

“Now _that_ had better not have anything to do with me,” he muttered. 


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, yeah, I know, that last chapter was less of a prologue and more of a “Chapter 1.” But hey—it’s supposed to be a Doctor Who episode of sorts, and they all have prologues, right? ;)

“Here we are!”

Alexa stepped through the arched doorway and Rey and the Doctor followed her into a large courtyard, lined with walls of white stone. Rounded doorways were spaced along the walls and benches dotted the area at uneven angles. In the center, water shot from a large fountain, and sound of its gentle tinkling echoed off the walls. Plants were everywhere—growing in pots, sprouting from the cracks of the sidewalk that wound its way through the courtyard, creeping up the walls. Rey reached forward and ran a finger along a green, leafy vine as they passed, following it as it curled down the wall and rooted in the soil at the base. 

“Our common room’s this way.” Alexa stepped through a doorway, motioning for them to follow. “Come in. Make yourselves comfortable.” She grinned. “I’m nothing if not a good host.” 

Rey followed Alexa through the doorway and blinked as her eyes adjusted from the bright, hot sunlight of the courtyard. Slowly, the room came into focus, and she saw that it was large and open, the walls made of the same white stone as the courtyard. Low couches were scattered haphazardly throughout, brightly colored blankets and pillows tossed here and there. And in the center was a table, decorated with a vase of brightly colored…flowers!

Before she could stop herself, Rey was running forward and burying her face in the flourish of color, drawing in a deep breath and smelling their scents. Jakku only had desert flowers—tiny, spiky things that could hardly be called flowers.

So much _color._

“Take one.” Rey started and turned to see Alexa standing beside her, grinning. “There’s more where they came from.”

“May I?” She felt herself smiling, then grinning. “May I—really?”

Alexa giggled. “Of _course_!” She reached forward and drew a bright pink bloom from the vase. “Look here—I know _exactly_ what you need.” She snapped the flower off at the stem and secured it just above Rey’s ear with a sparkling crystal pin from her own hair. “There—that’s lovely. Now, I’ll go tell the servants to start the midday meal. It’s a bit of a strange time but you must be starving—castaways usually are.” With a grin, she was gone, leaving Rey standing in the middle of the room. A sudden, awkward silence fell.

“The—servants?” She blinked. “You mean—Alexa—please—”

But the girl was gone, and Rey felt herself slumping. She didn’t want to be served. She didn’t want—she didn’t want someone cooking a meal for her while she sat comfortably lounging about on a luxurious couch like some sort of grand lady. It was _wrong._ It should be the other way around—perhaps she should offer to help. Perhaps—

“Don’t worry, miss. We don’t keep slaves.” A voice brought her head around and she saw for the first time that a young man—a few years younger than Alexa—sat on the couch in the far corner, a sketchbook in his hand. His dark hair fell almost over his eyes and he looked as if he had been trying to hide behind his notebook. He gave her a small, almost shy smile. “Some on the island do, but mother and father don’t believe in it. They’re more friends than servants, really. I’m Elias.” He set the book down, and for a moment Rey thought he was carefully hiding it from her view. “Alexa’s brother. I’m terribly sorry for not introducing myself when you came in.” He made a face. “My sister never says good things about me when she introduces me to strangers.”

The Doctor slipped his feet from the table where they had been firmly planted, stood, and sauntered over to the boy, his hands in his pockets. “May I ask what you were so involved in when we entered, Elias-Alexa’s-brother?”

He looked away, his expression clouded. “Oh—just my silly sketches,” he mumbled. “It’s nothing.”

The Doctor drew his glasses from his pocket and slipped onto the couch beside the boy. “There’s nothing that makes me more curious than ‘nothing.’ If I’ve learned anything in all my years of traveling, it’s that ‘nothing’ is most often something terribly, awfully important.” He raised an eyebrow, slipping his glasses on. “Go on. Show me.”

He shook his head and turned away, mumbling something indistinct about needing to help his sister or something. The Doctor caught his arm just before he stood and gently maneuvered him back to the couch, reaching out and ruffling his dark hair. 

“Ooh, now I don’t quite believe that,” he said. “I think you’re just avoiding showing me these ‘silly sketches’ of yours. Go on.” He grinned. “I’m not a harsh critic.”

“Oh, alright,” he mumbled, his face nearly hidden by a swath of dark hair that fell over his eyes. “It’s the watery spirits, sir. I’ve seen them. I know I have.” His voice was low, a little indistinct. He reached for his notebook and Rey leaned over the back of the couch behind the Doctor, suddenly very curious. He turned the notebook over, his eyes fixed firmly on the ground. “It’s not much of a drawing, sir.”

A creature swirled across the paper, startling in its detail. It rose from a bed of waves and seemed to be one with them, its eyes empty holes of swirling water and its face seeming to move and shift before her eyes.

She let out a soft gasp. “Elias—that’s amazing!”

He ducked his head. “I don’t think it’s so good,” he mumbled.

The Doctor stared intently at the page, one eyebrow raised. “Watery spirits, did you say? Where did you see these watery spirits?” 

“Along the beach, sir.” His eyes were fixed firmly on his feet and he turned his pencil over and over in his fingers. “I was walking and I saw it start to rise from the sea like some kind of—” He shuddered. “Some kind of—”

“Meal’s started!” Alexa burst through the door and skidded to a stop. Her eyes fell on the three of them and something flashed across her face—for a moment, her smile drooped and the sparkle left her eyes. “Oh,” she said, and it seemed for a moment that she had forced her smile back into position. “I see you’ve met my brother. Elias, please tell me you haven’t been boring them with your stories.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but before a word could come out she had rushed over and slipped his notebook from his hands, closing it and setting it firmly on the table. “I’m terribly sorry for any trouble my brother may have caused. I’ve told him a thousand times—” She edged away from the notebook as if it were watching her. “Anyway.” She smiled a bright smile. “Doctor—make yourself comfortable. Elias, please do make yourself scarce. Rey—you’re coming with me.” She grabbed Rey’s hand and tugged her to her feet. “I simply _must_ show you the city. But first I’ve got to get you something to wear that doesn’t look like you’ve been traveling for ages. They’ll think I’m a terrible host.” Almost before Rey could take a breath, they were standing together in the courtyard. Alexa skidded to a stop and looked her up and down. “A bit taller than me, but I’m certain I’ve got something you can wear.”

Rey shook her head quickly, remembering the trouble she had had last time she had attempted to wear a dress. “No—I’m fine. Really, I’m fine.”

Alexa plopped down on the fountain and pulled Rey down with her. “Oh, come on. You’ve got to impress the Doctor, you know.” She winked. “Something to match that flower and a more becoming hairstyle and he won’t be able to look away.”

“Oh—oh no! You’ve got it all wrong.” Rey felt her cheeks grow hot. “We’re not—that. Not at all.”

“Oh, nonsense. Have you _seen_ the way he looks at you? He is _obviously—_ ”

“ _NO._ ” Rey shook her head quickly. “Really. We’re—not. I think…” Her voice trailed off, and she looked away. “I think he’s lost someone,” she said softly. “A long time ago. Sometimes…he gazes off into the distance, and looks sort of wistful. Like he’s dreaming of long-lost times. And the way he looked at Tom and I—” She cut herself off quickly. Darn it. _Darn it._ She _wasn’t_ going to talk about Tom.

“Tom?” Alexa leaned forward, one eyebrow raised. “Who is this _Tom?”_

“ _Was.”_ Her voice was sharp, and she stared hard at the ground. “He _was._ ”

Her face clouded. “Oh—I’m sorry.” Jumping to her feet, she pulled Rey with her. “Well—anyway. Enough about that, I suppose. To the city!” 


	3. Chapter 2

“It’s the most wonderful city in the world!” Alexa threw her arms wide and twirled, her skirt swirling as she gave a sweeping motion at the marketplace around them. Bright colors were everywhere, from the clothes the people wore to the wares laid out in bright arrays in the market stalls. And _flowers—_ from bouquets of tiny, delicate blooms to flowers so large Rey thought she could bury her entire face in them, they were everywhere, sprouting from cracks in the sidewalks and bunched in bundles in stalls and braided in crowns in girls’ hair. 

Rey turned in a stumbling circle, her eyes wide, trying to take it all in.

She had seen hundreds of different alien races on Jakku, and Niima Outpost was always bustling with diverse activity. But nothing like this. Nothing so colorful, nothing so—so _alive._

She turned and looked back at the Doctor, grinning. He stood, his hands in his pockets, leaning against a stall at the edge of the marketplace and watching them with a little grin.

She darted back to him, grabbing his hand and pulled him forward with a sudden, wild giggle. There was so much to see—so many people—so—so _much._

Alexa looped her arm through Rey’s and tugged her forward through the rows of stalls. “Isn’t it wonderful? We are a city of _legend_.” Skidding to a stop in front of a small, tree-like plant, she dropped to her knees, pulling Rey with her. “Look at this,” she whispered conspiratorially. “This wasn’t here yesterday.”

Rey just stared at her for a moment. “You mean—”

“It _grew_ here. _Overnight._ I’m told this doesn’t happen in other nations.”

Rey shook her head quickly. “I—no. Certainly not where I come from,” she said dryly. 

A sudden movement behind her sent her hand flying to her staff and she whirled, jumping to her feet to see the Doctor standing there, peering through his glasses at the plant.

“So it just—grew here? In one day?” He dropped to a crouch, completely oblivious to Rey’s almost-attack. He flipped the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and scanned the plant. “Oooh—now _that’s_ fascinating. It’s completely normal. A completely normal plant. Alexa—”

But she had already flitted away, and Rey saw that she was leaning on the side of a stall, chattering with the vendor. Leaving the Doctor to his investigations, she started through the crowd towards her new friend, stopping briefly to catch her breath at a tall purple flower that sprouted from the edge of the sidewalk—nearly as tall as herself, swaying in the breeze. 

“Alexa!” The Doctor’s voice brought her around and she turned to see him darting through the crowd. “Alexa—do you know what makes this island so fertile?”

Alexa looked back. “Oh? No one knows,” she said. “Some say we’ve been blessed.” She sighed dreamily and gazed up at the bright blue sky. “Blessed by the gods.”

A smell like baking bread but sweeter wafted through the crowd and Rey closed her eyes for a moment, just letting herself smell it. It wasn’t as if she would get a taste of whatever it was—but at least she could enjoy the smell. 

And it smelled wonderful.

Her eyes popped open and she saw Alexa standing in front of her. She held a loaf of golden bread in her hands, something that looked like crushed flowers sprinkled across the top. “Here,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “You must try this. I don’t know how she does it—I swear she has some wonderful magic in her fingers. Or her oven.” She handed a slice to Rey. “Here. Try it.”

For a moment Rey just stared at her, her eyes wide. “For me?”

She wasn’t used to people giving away food like it was some sort of easily procured commodity. 

Alexa stared at her. “Of course! Did you think I was giving it to you to _look_ at?” She giggled. “I told her I’d rescued a castaway who was in desperate need of nourishment. So she gave it to me for nothing.” She winked. “She would have given it to me anyway, she’s the best.” She looked up at Rey. “Well? Try it. And then I’ve _got_ to show you…”

Her chattering continued as Rey carefully took the bread and took a small bite. It was sweet and rich and warm and she could _taste_ the bright flowers sprinkled through it.

She closed her eyes, savoring the taste for a moment before taking another bite.

“It’s wonderful,” she breathed.

Something smacked into her from behind and the bread fell to the ground as she whirled, her hands flying to her staff. The Doctor stood there, his hands in the air.

“Whoa, whoa! Put that thing down! I’m not—”

“Stop _doing_ that!” She slipped her staff back into its holster and looked down a little sadly at the piece of bread that lay at her feet, crumpled and dirtied by her sudden whirling footstep. She huffed. “Seriously. Don’t do that.” 

Stepping back a bit and giving her a wider berth than before, he sauntered up to Alexa. “So,” he said, shading his eyes against the sun. “That tower. What is it?”

Alexa looked away. “Oh….that’s the king’s tower.” Her face was shaded, carefully hidden. “Some call it the heart of Atlantis. But no one really….no one really goes there.”

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow, and sudden interest sparked across his face. “And why’s that?”

Rey sighed. If she knew the Doctor at all, the minute the words _no one really goes there_ had come out of Alexa’s mouth he had started making plans of how to go there. “Doctor….”

“It’s….guarded. Heavily guarded.” Her eyes clouded, contrasting sharply with her too-bright smile. “Some even say it’s guarded by the gods themselves.” She glanced around, as if searching the marketplace for something else to talk about. “But we needn’t speak of such things! Come along, there’s so much more to see!” Grabbing Rey’s hand, she darted off through the stalls, tugging Rey behind her.

The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets and caught up to them in a few long strides. “So…” he said, his eyes still fixed on the tower. “Has anyone ever _tried_ to go there? Or—”

“No!” she burst out, skidding to a stop, glancing wildly around. “No, we mustn’t speak of such things! No one goes there, Doctor! No one!” She turned away, starting through the crowd again. There was something determined in the set of her shoulders. “Come alone, I’m certain the meal’s ready now. We’ve been out too long as it is.”

“Alexa!” Rey grabbed her hand and pulled her to a stop. “We’ve hardly seen a bit of the city—of the marketplace! Surely—”

A sudden hush settled across the marketplace like a cloud over the sun. Alexa froze, her eyes wide and almost wild. “No!” she said in a sharp whisper. “No—no. We have to get back— _now._ ” She gripped Rey’s hand— _hard—_ and then she was worming her way through the crowd, slipping behind a booth and tugging Rey with her.

“What’s happening?” Rey’s voice seemed loud in the sudden hush. Alexa jerked her head sharply toward the street and Rey peered around the edge of the stall, her hand moving to her staff. 

The cool metal beneath her fingers was steadying—almost comforting.

A small group of soldiers made their way through the crowd, marching in unison. They wore armor of highly polished gold. Red capes clasped with large, flashy gold clasps were thrown jauntily over their shoulders. Their weapons gleamed at their sides, and their footsteps nearly shook the street. 

Her hand tightened on her staff.

Alexa shook her head with a sharp jerk, mouthing the word _no_. Rey nodded sharply and dropped her hand from her staff, trying to peer into the street without moving, without drawing attention. The pounding rumble of the men’s footsteps began to fade into the distance, and slowly, the crowd began to chatter again.

Alexa took a deep breath and for a moment she slumped against the back of the stall. Then, squaring her shoulders, she stepped past Rey, motioning her back out into the crowd. The Doctor emerged from behind another stall and joined them, shooting a quick glance in the direction the guards had disappeared.

“Who were they?” he asked, his voice low.

“King’s men.” Alexa’s voice was strung as tight as a cord. “Chosen from birth. Highly trained. Highly dangerous. Some even say they’ve been given power from the gods.” She looked up, plastering a bright smile on her face. “But we mustn’t discuss that. Come. We should be getting home.” Her smile wobbled. “Now. We need to go now.”

And then she was running, weaving her way through the crowd. Rey started off after her, and she could feel the Doctor at her heels. They wove their way through the people, the stalls rushing past them until finally they emerged on the other end of the market, looking out over the shoreline.

Rey skidded to a stop, pulling Alexa with her. “Alexa—what was that?” She shot a quick glance back at the bustling marketplace. “What’s wrong?”

Alexa shook her head quickly. “Nothing. Really. Nothing. I was stupid. Foolish. I was worried—” She turned to face Rey, and for a moment her light-hearted mask cracked, revealing a well of swirling terror beneath. She shook her head again. “Come on,” she said, starting forward determinedly. 

Rey glanced back at the marketplace before following Alexa forward, towards her home on the shore. 

Suddenly this _Atlantis_ didn’t seem so wonderful.

“We’re here!” Alexa stepped through the doorway, her voice echoing off the walls of the courtyard. “Elias, we’re home—Elias?” She picked up her skirts and darted forward, looking around wildly. “Elias! We’re home—” Suddenly her voice was small. “Elias? Where did you go?” 


	4. Chapter 3

“Elias?” Alexa darted into the common room, Rey and the Doctor at her heels. She skidded to a stop, scanning the room in a flash of a second. Her voice hitched. “Elias—” And then she was running forward, dropping to her knees beside the couch where he had sat. Her fingers closed around his notebook and she hugged it to her chest.

“Alexa?” Rey dropped to her knees beside the girl, her hands on her shoulders. “Alexa—look at me. What’s wrong? Surely you’re brother’s just gone somewhere else—”

“No!” She looked up. The mask of lighthearted nonchalance had shattered and fallen away completely, leaving nothing but terror and despair. A curl fell out around her shoulders and her eyes were wide and wild. She held up the notebook. “No—look.”

Across the beautiful, intricate drawing, the crude print of a soldier’s boot was stamped. 

“They’ve taken him.” Her fingers loosened on the notebook and it fell to the ground with a flutter and a thump. “I told him. I told him not to. I told him not to draw them or talk about them or think about them. I told him…” Her voice was hot. “It’s all his fault. It’s all—”

The Doctor was at her side, setting a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Alexa,” he said. “Look at me. Please look at me. Where do you think your brother’s been taken?”

“We—we shouldn’t talk about it.” Her chin trembled but she tried to force a smile. “It’s fine. I suppose—”

Rey set her hands on Alexa’s shoulders and forced the girl to face her. “Alexa, it is _not_ fine! You’ve just lost your brother! We’ve got to get help, or—or something!” She looked up at the Doctor, and there was a firm set to her voice. “Doctor,” she said. “We’re helping. Aren’t we?”

“We are. Oh, we are.” He dropped to his knees in front of Alexa. “Tell me everything. Everything that’s led to this point. Every reason why you assumed he was in danger before you saw _that._ ” He gestured to the notebook, stamped with the soldier’s boot. “I’m going to help you. I promise.” His eyes were dark, and his voice was serious—deadly serious. “I’m the Doctor. And I never go back on a promise.”

“People d—disappear sometimes.” Alexa looked away, twisting the fabric of her skirt around her fingers again and again. “We don’t talk about it. _Ever._ I told him not to. I told him I know what happens—we all know what happens—”

He jumped to his feet and began to pace. “So people just disappear? And people conveniently don’t question it?” He came to a sudden stop, turning back to the two of them. “And what’s the _other_ thing on this island that people _conveniently don’t question?_ I know where your brother is, Alexa.” He whirled to the doorway. “Take me to the tower.”

* * *

“Don’t look nervous.” Alexa’s glance shot up at the tower and back at the Doctor. “Don’t look at the tower. And don’t—” The determined shell of her words collapsed. “I don’t know how to get there,” she said in a small voice.

“Well...” He raised an eyebrow. “I assume we just walk towards it. It’s not as if we can miss it!”

They had made their way through the marketplace and across a canal which separated it from what appeared to be the residential area of the island, the tower always in their view. The houses were beginning the fade into the distance behind them, and bright green trees and grasses sprouted unhindered across the stretch of land which surrounded the tower. A thick screen of trees blocked the base of the tower itself, which loomed larger and larger with every step.

She shot a quick glance back at the houses behind them. It was almost as if they were trying to give the tower as wide a berth as possible.

She weighed her new staff in her mind. She hadn’t really used it yet—not even practiced. Would it do to take out a guard? What sort of weapons did they have here?

She forced herself to keep her hand at her side, not to reach for it, not to feel the cool metal beneath her fingers. She couldn’t let anyone see her ready to pull a weapon.

They stopped just before the line of forest that blocked the tower. Alexa twisted her skirt in her hands and stared hard at her feet.

“D—doctor. Rey. Before we cross the c—canal, I need to—to tell you something.” She brushed her hand across the nearest tree trunk as if to lean on it, steady herself, and then dropped it to her side. The only sound was the swishing of the sea grasses in the breeze. “They’re watching. They’re always watching. The water. It watches. It listens. My brother was right. I knew he was. If we—”

“So the key’s to look like we’re welcome here.” He interrupted her, finishing her thought for her. “And it’s ‘your brother _is’_ not ‘your brother _was._ ’ Come on then!” He turned to the forest. “Allons-y!”

“You know, I used to wonder about this place.” Alexa spoke, the words coming out all in a rush as they started forward into the little strip of forest. “Once I even dared to come r—right up to this line of trees and stared through them.” She giggled, high and thin. “I was rather stupid then, wasn’t—wasn’t I?” They stepped into the shadow of the trees, and Rey heard their footsteps crunch in the underbrush.

And she skidded to a stop, catching her breath. 

Sunlight flickered through the leaves and branches above her, fringing them in white glow and sending light and shadow dancing about her feet. Beams of yellow shot through to the forest floor, dust particles dancing in them like little bits of stardust, pools of light scattered here and there throughout the tangle of tree trunks and branches.

She took a faltering step forward, her eyes wide. 

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.

Alexa came to a stop at Rey’s side. “You know, it is,” she said softly. “It really is.” She looked away, and Rey realized her eyes were glistening with tears. “He would have drawn this,” she said. “Elias, I mean. He would have sat down here with his notebook and not left for _hours…._ ” Her voice trailed off and she turned to the Doctor. “And he _will._ Won’t he, Doctor? We’ll find him?” Her voice was small, and a smile wobbled across her face. “And when we find him, we’ll take him back here, and for once I won’t tease him about it…” 

Her voice had a questioning lilt to it. As if she wanted—desperately wanted—to be reassured.

Rey searched until she caught Alexa’s gaze. “We _will,_ ” she said. “ _I promise._ ” And stepping closer, together they stepped out of the trees.

The sun struck her full in the face and dark spots exploded in her vision. She winced and squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them, her vision had cleared—though she still had to squint against the ivory stone of the tower, which glared white-hot in the midday sun.

The base of the tower spread out in front of them—it was surprisingly small, she noticed, like a giant needle shooting into the sky. A moat curved around the tower, a small, slender bridge arching high across the water.

Almost as if its maker had wanted to get as far away from the water as possible.

Rey scanned the area in a flash of a second. The bridge—their only entrance to the tower, it seemed, without swimming the moat—was unguarded. The door on the other side was unguarded as well. She shaded her eyes against the sun and squinted hard. It stood open, just a bit. Unlocked and open.

As if it was beckoning them.

“Empty.” The Doctor’s voice echoed a bit off of the tower. “Completely empty.”

_Some say it’s guarded by the gods themselves._

“Too easy.” Her voice was taught. “It’s got to be at trap.” 

“Maybe we should go.” Alexa took a little, shaky step backward. “Maybe we should just go. This was a foolish idea anyway. Maybe we should—”

“Nah.” The Doctor turned, and Rey thought she saw a hint of a grin twitching around his lips. “A great big secretive unexplored tower that might be a trap and you just want to _walk away?_ Alexa, where’s your sense of adventure?”

“My sense of adventure only exists when the adventure isn’t going to get us _killed!”_ Her voice rose to a panic-pitch and she grabbed a handful of her skirt, lifting it and turning as if to bolt. “Or _worse_!”

“Where do you think they are? Just hiding behind the door to catch us? Oh no, we’re better than _that._ ” He flipped his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, twirling it in the air and catching it again, flicking a button. “We’ll be _expecting_ them.” Holding the device forward, he scanned it across the base of the tower. “Scan for entrances,” he muttered. “Doors, tunnels. I love a good secret passage. Not air vents, though. Everyone always wants to climb through air vents and I can tell you from experience, they _never_ work. Plus, they’re horribly uncomfortable. And—oh. Oooh.” He froze, staring at the device. It beeped, the blue light flashing. “I’m getting a life-sign reading. There’s something—”

He jumped backwards as a surge of water rose, churning, from the canal. Tendrils of water threw themselves over the bank and hissed like watery tentacles towards Rey, snaking around her ankles before she could react. She stumbled backwards, her staff in her hands in an instant.

It swished through the water as if through the form of a ghost and the tentacles curled up her legs, undeterred, hissing and spraying droplets in every direction. She stumbled backwards, slipping and falling to the ground with a thump that jarred her whole body, grasping for something— _anything—_ to grab onto as the water tugged her inexorably towards the stream.

She fumbled for her staff but couldn’t find it. Her fingers slipped through the muddy bank. 

“Alexa! _Doctor?”_

Her feet went over the edge and then she was in the canal, kicking and thrashing wildly. She drew in a deep breath and found herself gulping a mouthful of water.

“Doctor!” she managed. “I _can’t swim!_ ”

His head popped above the surface of the water, his hair plastered to his face. “Well, you should have told me that before we landed on _Atlantis!_ ”

She spluttered. “I didn’t _ask—_ ”

And then the water closed over her head. She could feel it pressing in on her, dragging her down as she thrashed and kicked against it. She gasped, swallowed a gulp of water, and held her breath. Slippery tendrils closed around her and pulled her down, down, down, in the wavering blue depths…

With a burst of exertion that made her let out a gasp of air, she shoved her arms free. Where was her staff? Had the water taken it? It wasn’t as if it would do any good—

But she had _just made it._

The water pressed itself against her chest and forced itself into her mouth. She let out a hacking cough. Bubbles floated from her lips and swirled away as if caught in a current…

Sunlight flickered through the waves of blue around her in white spots like blinding diamonds. Her head slammed into something like rock, and a shock ran through her, red spots exploding in front of her eyes. Her lungs cried out for air. The water pressed in like a tightening cord….

A hand closed around hers, and then something was pulling her—upward? Downward? Something dark fluttered in front of her face and she flailed, shoving it away. Her hair floated free and found its way into her mouth—

And then she was lying in the mud, gasping in deep breaths. The Doctor hovered above her, impossibly tall, blocking out the sky. His face wavered and blurred. She forced herself to a sitting position, a hacking cough pushing its way out.

She drew in another wavering breath, her heart pounding in her head like a constant pulse. Every muscle in her body felt weak, and she wanted nothing more than to flop back into the mud. 

“Alexa?” she managed.

“I’m here.” Alexa hurried to her side, dropping to her knees. Her dress was streaked with mud and her hair had flopped out of its up-do, its curls plastering themselves to her face and neck. “The Doctor saved—”

“Right. No time for that.” His hand closed around hers and he hand yanked her to her feet before she had time to protest. “Run! _Now!”_

Her hand flew for her staff before she could stop herself, and her fingers closed around cool metal.

She froze. 

Hadn’t she lost it? So why was it suddenly here for her to grab out of habit? 

She turned to see the Doctor standing behind her, holding the staff. “Thought you might want this,” he said.

“Thanks.” She slid it into its holster and turned to the moat—

The surface bubble and hissed, tendrils shooting from the water like writhing snakes.

And then they were running, across the muddy ground and into the screen of trees, the lights and shadows and tangled branches flashing by them, their feet making a terrible crashing racket on the leaves. They burst out on the other side and skidded to a stop, panting.

“Well, that didn’t work!” The Doctor glanced back through the trees. “That didn’t work at all. Whatever those things are, they don’t want us here. They either own the tower themselves or they’re programmed to guard it. And that means—oh. Oooh. That means—” His gaze snapped to Alexa and she started. “That means we need official permission. Who can enter that tower?”

“Only…” She stared up at him, wide-eyed. “Only the king and his guards, sir—Doctor.” 

“Alright then. Take me to the king!” 


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which ancient societies have no idea what droids, psychic paper, or sonic screwdrivers are. ;)

With every step, Rey could feel her shoes squishing. Water trickled down her shirt and her hair clung damply to her neck. The breeze seemed icy now and she shivered and found herself scowling. The minute she got back to the TARDIS she was getting herself some dry clothes and getting every drop of water out of her hair.

And people did this _voluntarily?_

The Doctor sauntered along behind her, his coat draped over his arm, leaving a trail of water behind him. His hair was plastered to his face but he seemed _happy—_ of course he did. They were marching up to the king’s palace and demanding entrance to a tower no one had ever entered. 

He was in his _element._

Rey was certain that from every window they passed, a confused citizen of Atlantis was staring at them. The way Alexa hurried them through the streets, her gaze darting here and there, only made the feeling worse.

“I do think….” Alexa began, but her voice trailed off and she shot a quick glance at the nearest estate. A fountain spouted water from the front lawn. “Doctor,” she began again, her voice lower this time. “I do think things have been a bit…strange, of late.” She piled her mass of curls into her hands and twisted it, sending drops spraying in every direction. “The island’s been growing faster. This last cycle we had gained enough to grow a whole new field of crops and build some new homes besides. I had thought—” 

“ _Growing_?” The Doctor froze, staring at her. “What do you mean by that? Growing?”

She shrugged. “It grows. The island, I mean. I suppose—” For a moment she just looked at him, her head tilted quizzically. “I suppose it is rather strange to think about—I do keep forgetting you’ve not grown up here. Every year we measure, sometimes we plant new crops if we’ve gained enough. But lately—well, I’d taken it as a sign we’d been blessed by the gods, but…” Her voice trailed off and she looked away. “My brother, he’s been withdrawn lately. More focused on his drawings, his dreams and fantasies…”

_He_ has. _As if—as if he’s still—_

He had to be. Rey looked away, blinking back sudden, stinging tears. He _couldn’t_ be dead. This whole trip to the tower—to the king—it couldn’t be for naught. They _would_ rescue him—they _would—_

And anyone whose soul was blackened enough to kill an innocent boy like him would see the end of her staff.

The familiar wobble of the sonic screwdriver pulled her from her thoughts and she glanced towards it. The Doctor had dropped to his knees, tip of the device shoved in the dirt. It wobbled, wavered, and died out.

He picked it up, gave it a shake, and stuck it back into the little hole he had burrowed.

This time, there was nothing. No wobble, no blue flicker.

He plucked it from the dirt, glaring at it. “Come on, you old troublemaker, you,” he muttered—and whacked it across his knee, _hard._

Water flew in all directions—and the familiar blue glow appeared at the tip again.

“There we go,” he said with a grin, shoving it back into the dirt and flicking a button. His eyes grew wide, and he whipped his glasses from his pocket, jumping to his feet. “Will you look at _that!_ ” he cried, shoving the device in Rey’s face. She stumbled backwards. “Whatever this island is made of, it is _not_ dirt!” His gaze snapped to Alexa and she stared wide-eyed at him, her glance flickering between his wild grin and the strange device in his hand. “Alexa. Where did you say this island came from?”

“No one knows.” Her voice was small and she stared up at him. “What—what is that thing?”

“Oh, this? Sonic screwdriver. Does everything. Except wood. Really must make a setting for that…anyway!” He turned, holding out an arm gallantly to Alexa. “Shall we visit the king’s palace, milady?”

She managed a shaky smile. She looped her arm through his and looked up at him, taking a deep breath. “This is ridiculous,” she said. “We are walking into the king’s palace. _We are walking into the king’s palace._ ” She managed a little giggle. “This is the kind of thing I used to dream about as a little girl. When I didn’t know better.”

“Oh, what’s the fun in knowing better?” He gave her a lopsided grin. “I like you, Alexa. Never grow up.” 

He held out an arm to Rey and she shook her head quickly. She was wet enough—she didn’t need to get even wetter by hanging onto the Doctor.

“So.” He turned to Alexa. “Tell me about this king we’ll be visiting. Name? Besides _the king,_ of course, as that seems to be a rather popular name among royalty. Past? I find it helps to know a bit about the person one is trying to convince if one wants to convince them of something.” He paused. “And I’m certain there was a better way to say that.”

“He’s just—the king.” She looked away, sudden uncertainty creasing her brow. “You know, I don’t think he’s got a name. Or a past or—or anything. No one knows anything about him. I think—I think he might like it that way?” She shook her head. “Anyway. Not much to tell.” She shrugged, and looked back up at him with a grin. “But you know, we must make quite a sight, the three of us. Look at us.” She giggled. “Look at my _hair._ ” She shook her head, and her curls poofed out around her face like a mass of uncombed wool. “Anyone looking out of those windows must be laughing themselves silly. You know, I don’t really care, I know _I_ would be laughing myself silly if I saw us…” Her voice trailed off, as if it had suddenly stuck in her throat. Her eyes went wide and round and she stumbled backwards, catching herself on the Doctor’s arm.

Rey followed her gaze to see a giant estate looming up before them. High, sharp fences surrounded a several-story building of dark stone, looming up like some ancient ruin come to life. Guards stood like statues along the fence, spears planted against the ground and red capes thrown over one shoulder, like smears of blood against the bright blue sky. 

Suddenly her staff seemed very flimsy. 

Rey forced herself to follow the Doctor as they approached. She had never been allowed to approach those who called themselves higher-ups on Jakku. She had never set foot inside the office of the constable—when he was alive. She had never approached the soldiers or inspectors when they deigned to pay a visit to the shady outpost—she had always slipped away into the crowd, hoping she wouldn’t be noticed, wouldn’t be singled out for questioning or shouted at and kicked out of the way.

But now—

A _king._

How did one speak to a king? Were there special protocols, titles, etiquette? 

The front gate towered over them, its spikes black and spear-like against the sky. The Doctor came to a stop in front of the stoic guard, who stood like a statue by the latch. He flipped his physic paper from his pocket and shoved it in the guard’s face.

“I’m the Doctor,” he said, “and I’m here by invitation of the king.”

The guard stared impassively at the paper. “What manner of writing is this?” he said. “It is not from the known world.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “Eh—what’s that? It’s an invitation from the king—oh. Oooh. I nearly forgot, this is ancient Greece! Should have thought of that. Wrong ID.” He slipped the little wallet back into his pocket and quirked a smile at the guard. “Well, you’ll just have to take my word for it. Which….I suppose you won’t do. Because you’re a guard. And a rather good one at that….”

Alexa stepped to his side, flipping a curl over her shoulder and giving the guard her sweetest smile. Rey thought she saw a glint of wild abandon in her eyes. “Hey, listen, king’s-guard. Tell your master someone’s here to see him—someone _important._ ” She winked. “He’ll know what I mean.”

The guard stood, his face an impassive mask. His hand tightened on his spear.

Rey took a deep breath. They would either get reported or thrown in the king’s dungeon or—or whatever they did here. She had to do _something…._ she stepped forward, fixing the guard with her most authoritative stare. “Sir, we must see the king. _Now._ ”

She hoped she sounded like she meant it.

Something bumped against her ankles and she started and tensed, clenching her fists to keep from grabbing for her staff. The minute her hand touched her weapon the guard would be on her in an instant—she knew that. Glancing down, she saw—

BB8?

“BB8!” She leaned down, giving the little droid a gentle nudge. “I thought we told you to stay in the TARDIS!”

It let out a little, sad beep, its head drooping forward.

She sighed. “BB8—please. This is really bad timing. Please go back—”

“What is _that_?” She looked up, her hand resting on the droid’s head, to see the guard staring down at her, his impassive mask cracking a bit to reveal— _fear_? “That is not from among the land of men!”

She just stared at him for a long moment. “It’s—a droid?”

Oh—right. They didn’t have droids here. 

Not yet—right? Sometime in the future— _argh._ This was confusing. 

“What is a _droid?”_ The guard’s voice was wary, and she could see his fingers tightening on his spear.

She stood, looking helplessly at the Doctor. How did she explain a droid to a society that didn’t even know other planets _existed_? Would he call her a sorcerer, think she was some kind of—

The little droid looked up at the guard and let out a happy beep, rolling forward to rub about the guard’s ankles like a friendly kitten. 

His impassive mask shattered and he dodged the droid, looking as if he were about to dash away. “You have brought it to life! You must be powerful indeed!” He stepped forward, and for a moment he seemed like a shy little boy. “Forgive me, my lady.” He bowed, and reached for her hand, drawing it to his lips. “For I have acted in an unseemly manner in the presence of one blessed by the gods. What is your desire, lady?”

For a moment, Rey just stared at him. Then something clicked in her mind she forced herself to look him in the eye. “I desire to speak to the king.”

The guard bowed again. “I will alert him of your presence, my lady.” He unlatched the gate and motioned for her to enter.

She glanced back at the Doctor and Alexa. “And they’re coming with me,” she said with as much authority as she could manage. The guard nodded, and the two of them scrambled in behind her as the gate clanged shut.

She let out a long breath and stared down at BB8, then back up at the Doctor. The courtyard spread out before them and they started forward a little hesitantly across the perfectly clipped grass towards an arch that led to a second, inner courtyard. 

“I don’t know what I did,” she said in a small voice. “But I guess it worked.” 

“What—what _is_ that?” Alexa’s voice wavered and Rey turned to see her standing, hugging her arms around herself and giving the droid a wide berth. “Is it alive?”

“Please.” The words tumbled out before she could stop them. “Please, I’m nothing special. Not like the guard thought. I didn’t make the droid. I found it. I’m a scavenger. Just a scavenger. Please don’t—”

“No!” She shook her head quickly. “The power to make objects of—whatever that is—come alive—you must be!” She looked up at Rey, and her eyes were wide and round. “I’m terribly sorry for—for not realizing sooner—with your Doctor and his strange devices—and—and—” Her words nearly tripped over each other. “What are you then? Messengers of the gods?” 

“Messengers of the—oh no! Nothing like that! I told you, I’m just a—”

“The king will see you now.” As if in sync, Alexa and Rey started and turned to see a man, dressed richly but evidently some kind of servant or footman. He bowed stiffly and turned with a snap towards the arch. Alexa looked up at Rey with a lopsided grin and Rey managed a small smile in return.

They followed the servant under the arch, its dark stones polished so that Rey could nearly see her reflection in them, and passed into the second courtyard. The servant bowed and seemed to disappear, leaving them standing alone in the doorway.

Plants of all colors and sizes sprouted around the walls and ornately carved benches were arranged in severe symmetry around the expanse. A giant fountain spouted from the center, the water seeming to touch the sky.

Rey looked up and watched the droplets sparkle in the sunlight for a long moment.

A figure appeared from behind tinkling water and approached them. He wore a red cape thrown haphazardly over one shoulder and on his head he wore a crown of gold leaves. 

He carried himself like a king who knew all too well that he was a king. 

He approached the Doctor until he stood almost nose-to-nose with him, his head held high and his dark eyes sharp.

“I am told that you are a prophet,” he said.

The Doctor shrugged and motioned to Rey. “That’d be her,” he said. 

Rey opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. If they were all going to insist she was some kind of prophetess, she might as well _use_ it. She snapped to BB8 and he rolled to her side.

“Come then.” He looked down his nose at her, his gaze sharp as a dagger. “Prophecy for me.”

A thousand options flashed through her mind at once and she studied his face intently. He didn’t seem to be one who was easily impressed—his reaction to the little droid had been stoic, impassive. What could she do with a man like this? It wasn’t as if she could do anything that was _actually_ impressive…

“Now, Mr. King or whatever we’re supposed to call you, that’s not exactly what we’re here for.” The Doctor fixed a level stare at the king, his arms crossed. “See, I’m _very_ interested in this island of yours. I’ve heard tales of its wonders from—”

“I will not tolerate such disrespect from a stranger!” The king seemed to tower over the Doctor, his shadow engulfing him like a black hole. “If you will not provide me a service, I shall have to call the guards on you!”

The Doctor held up a hand and stepped back, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, no no no, I wouldn’t do that if I were you. See, it seems your guards are a bit scared of _her._ ” He nodded towards Rey. “Being a prophetess and all. I don’t think they’d lay a finger on her.” He slipped his glasses from his pocket and let them rest on his nose, looking over the top of them at the king. “Now, I’m _very_ interested in that tower of yours. I’m a bit of an architect myself—you might say I dabble in it.” He circled the king, his gaze fixed on the haughty man. “Now, what I want to know is how you made it so tall—I’ve never seen such a marvel of construction.” He sauntered forward, his hands in his pockets. His voice was deliberately light. “But what I’m _really_ curious about are the inner workings of the thing. A great big tall tower that no one ever talks about, sprouting right from the center of the island? That’s a secret if I ever heard of one.” His eyes turned dark, and suddenly his manner wasn’t quite so calculatingly light. “It seems this island has a lot of secrets, _your majesty._ ”

The king drew himself up, and the air crackled between them.

“You will leave my presence,” he said, and his voice was low and dark. “ _Now._ ”

The Doctor met his dark gaze with an equally hard one. “Now, that’s where you’ve got me wrong. See, I have a bit of a problem. And that’s that I’m _very_ stubborn. Now—”

“Guards!” The king shoved past the Doctor, his voice echoing across the courtyard. His cape was a smear of red in the archway. “Arrest them!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe I have way too much fun writing the Doctor. :P


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wheee I love this chapter lol

Stairs. So many stairs.

The guards marched them up what must have been a hundred stories—or at least, it certainly felt like it. Stair after stair, turn after turn, until the world seemed to spin from the spiraling staircase and the relentless pounding of the guards’ boots. Rey’s hands were clamped behind her at an awkward angle, crude handcuffs biting into her wrists. And, once again, her staff had been confiscated.

Traveling with the Doctor was certainly giving her experience making new staffs. 

Alexa limped behind her, shivering, her hair fuzzed out around her face and her eyes fixed heavily on the ground as the guards prodded her forward. The Doctor sauntered ahead, and if his hands hadn’t been cuffed behind him, she thought he would have had them in his pockets.

Of _course_ he was happy. He was in the middle of things now.

This had probably been his plan all along.

With every step, Rey ran over her plan again and again. They would be dumped in their cell, probably with at least one guard. She could steal the guard’s weapon—she had done it before, or something like it. She was certain she could pull it off if she got the timing right. The Doctor would let them out, and perhaps they could lock the guard in his own cell before escaping to find Alexa’s brother. Thank goodness she had thought to send BB8 on his way back to the TARDIS—the guards may have confiscated him too and then they would have to find the little droid as well. Though they did seem rather frightened of the little thing—they certainly hadn’t pursued the issue when he decided to go bumping back out the gate. Once they had Elias, they would find their way out of the tower and, hopefully, be on their way.

Although, knowing the Doctor, he would probably find some other mystery to solve while they were here.

They rounded another turn in the steps and a spear poked into her back, sending her stumbling forward into a little, rock-lined cell behind the Doctor. Alexa fell in after her and the door clanged closed behind them. A key ground in the lock, and the heavy, thumping footsteps of the guards echoed off down the stairs.

She had scanned the cell in a flash of a second. Light from the torches that burned in the stairway outside flickered off of walls of solid rock. No windows with bars that could be bent or broken. The door itself was made of giant bars of crudely formed metal, unbendable. She glanced at the lock. Large, sturdy. The sonic screwdriver would take care of that. Now—

A little sound made her turn, and she saw Alexa slumped against the wall, her head buried in her knees. A little, muffled sob came from the bundle of brightly colored fabric that was the girl. 

Rey dropped to her knees beside her. “Alexa—it’s alright,” she said softly. “The Doctor can get us out of here. We’re not trapped. It’s fine—”

Nothing. Just more muffled sobs.

“Alexa?” She tried to catch the girl’s gaze, but couldn’t find it. “Alexa—what’s wrong? It’s going to be fine. I’ve got a plan. The Doctor’s got a plan—”

“I’m branded.” She raised her face, her eyes glistening and her cheeks tear-stained. “I’m marked,” she sniffled. “I’ve been in the tower. No one will ever speak to me again.” She dropped her head to her knees again, her voice muffled. “I might as well die here.”

“Alexa. Listen. No one has to know, understand? They won’t know what happened unless you tell them. I can get us out of here. The Doctor can get us out of here.” She turned to the Doctor. “Doctor. Sonic screwdriver. Handcuffs, then door.”

“Already on it.” He brought his hands from behind his back, the cuffs dangling from one hand and the sonic screwdriver in the other, its glowing wobbly-blue. He tossed it her direction.

It bounced to a stop just behind her.

She sighed. _“Doctor.”_

“Right!” He was across the cell in a single bound. “Bit useless when you don’t have hands.” He scooped the device from the floor and her handcuffs had clicked off in a moment. With a sigh, she brought her hands forward, massaging her wrists.

“How does this always seem to happen?” she muttered, turning to Alexa. “Alexa. Turn around.”

Alexa obligingly obeyed, and Rey held out her hand. The Doctor dropped the screwdriver into it and she had snapped the handcuffs from her wrists in a moment.

Alexa didn’t move.

Rey jumped to her feet. “Now—the door. Alexa, come on! We’ve almost got ourselves out of here—” She ran her fingers over the sonic screwdriver, trying to remember what she had to do last time she used the thing. Flicking a button and hoping it was right, she pressed the glowing tip against the lock.

The blue light wavered, and the sound wobbled into nothing. And the lock didn’t click.

She turned to the Doctor. “I’m assuming that’s bad?”

He was at her side in an instant. “Deadlocked!” He leaned back against the door with a groan. “Deadlocked and deadbolted. Didn’t expect that of them!” He stepped away and paced to the other end of the little cell, and then back, running his fingers through his hair. “So that’s out. Onto plan B.” He stopped, looking at Rey and Alexa. “Anybody got a plan B?”

“It doesn’t work?” Rey shook the sonic screwdriver. “I thought—”

“Doesn’t do deadlocks.”

“Then make a setting for them! You said it does everything—”

“Can’t. Not how it works.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and began to pace. “I would suggest stealing the keys from the guard but we haven’t got a guard—why haven’t we got a guard?” He skidded to a stop, staring at the door. “Now that’s not right. We should have a guard. Don’t they guard the prisoners here? A deadlock but no guard—why?”

“Maybe that’s it.” She stared at the lock. “Maybe they don’t think they _have_ to.” If she had something thin and sharp, she was certain she could figure out how to pick it. The Doctor had to have something in his pockets she could work with…

“I’ve never seen a prison so negligent, and that’s saying something because I’ve seen a lot of prisons. There’s only two reasons why they would leave us alone here. One, they got cocky. Rule number one of a prison, never get cocky. Two—I’m just making this up as I go along. Two—oh. Oooh.” He began to pace again, from corner to corner and back again. “Two, they’re afraid. They left us here because they’re _afraid._ ”

Rey stared at him. “Of _us?_ ”

“No—something else.” He began to pace faster, raking his fingers through his hair until it stood out in all directions. “If the guards are afraid, that means there’s something in this cell.” His words tumbled over each other. “Or something that can _enter_ the cell. Something that scares the guards so much—”

Alexa let out a little shriek and the Doctor and Rey whirled to see her standing in the center of the cell, staring down at her feet.

Rey’s eyes widened and she backed towards the wall.

In the center of the cell was a small hole—just big enough for a person to fit into, she thought with a shiver. The grey rock sides were smooth as glass and they plummeted down, down, down, from grey to darker grey and into utter blackness. In the sudden silence, Rey could hear the sound of waves echoing up through the darkness.

She realized with a twist in her stomach that it reached all the way down through the tower to the ocean below the island.

She took a few gingerly steps backward, pressing herself into the farthest corner. If her foot slipped the wrong way she would fall all the day down to the sea. She saw herself falling, falling, falling, the glass-smooth sides of the tunnel rushing past her, nothing to grasp, no way to stop her plummeting decent….

“Oh, that’s bad.” The Doctor dropped to his knees in front of the hole, peering down into the darkness. Rey felt her breath catch in her throat and she had to bit her tongue to keep from shouting at him to get away. “That’s very bad. A tunnel to the sea…”

“Get back!” Alexa shrieked. A raging, swirling sound echoed up the shaft, growing louder, louder, louder…

The Doctor was on his feet in a flash of a second, and Rey was at his side. “Doctor. Have you got anything I can use to—”

He reached into his pockets. “Don’t usually carry lockpicks with me—should really start doing that, now that I think about it.” Puling something from his pocket, he stared at it. “Matches! What have I got matches for? Anyway, never know when you might need those—best keep them dry, too—” He shoved them back into his coat and fumbled with them for a moment, and Rey bounced up and down, resisting the urge to shove his hands out of the way and search for something _herself._ “Here we go!” he cried, pulling something from his pocket—

Water erupted from the hole like a fountain and sprayed against the ceiling with the force of a cannon, drops lashing about them like a thunderstorm. Rey was across the room in a moment, gripping the bars of the door—the only thing to cling to in the cell—until the metal cut into her fingers.

The water whipped away from the ceiling and curled towards them, hissing and spraying. She pressed herself against the door, bracing for the impact and searching the cell for the others. Alexa had huddled herself into a corner, her eyes wide pools of terror, and the Doctor seemed to be pointing his sonic screwdriver at the oncoming wave as if that would do anything. 

And then there was water in her eyes and her mouth and wrapping around her like a slippery snake, tugging at her feet and twisting around her fingers, prying them loose like some kind of ever-twisting screw. She took in a gulp of air before the water closed itself around her—and her fingers slipped from the bars.

The rough floor scraped across her face and her fingers grated across the stone, searching for something, anything to hold onto—and then the world fell out from under her and she was rushing downward, the glassy walls tight around her, their closeness making her hurtling decent seem even faster. The water swirled around her, crashing like a thunderstorm in her ears.

“Hold on!” The shout exploded above her and she looked up to the see the Doctor, his long coat flying behind him as he fell. Her hand shot up and she grabbed the tan fabric—and held on.

He looked down at her and she saw he was grinning as they fell, his sonic screwdriver held upward in one hand, sparks flying from its tip as it skimmed down the wall. _Grinning._ “Aliens!” he cried. “Look at them— _aliens!_ Made of _water!_ ”

Air and water rushed past her and just below her she thought she saw the surface of the ocean, raging and churning, hurtling towards her—and then the water closed over her head and everything went suddenly silent.

She flailed—and a hand touched hers. She turned, as if in slow motion, and saw Alexa, her hair floating out around her face.

She tugged her closer. _Don’t get separated._ For a flickering moment, the blue glow of the sonic screwdriver shone through a gap in the stormy surface and she kicked wildly. Bubbles escaped her lips, flying up towards it.

She gasped in a mouthful of water and held her breath.

Alexa wrapped her arms around her and they held onto each other as they were sucked down into the darkness of the ocean.

A tentacle of water closed around them, tugging them deeper, deeper—she thrashed, the water closing in about her on all sides like a closing coffin, forcing itself into her mouth—her lungs burned—

Something like sunlight sparkled above her—below her? Sunlight? Why was there—she sucked in another mouthful of water and held her breath with a gulp.

No. No. Don’t breathe.

Blackness exploded in her vision and weight pressed in on her. She felt herself falling up, spinning, the world swirling around her—

And then—nothing.


	7. Chapter 6

The first thing she heard was tinkling water. Voices pushed their way into her mind, blurred and twisted. She gasped for breath and pushed herself to a sitting position—

And then she was coughing wildly, water spewing across her lap and onto the ground in front of her. Hands planted themselves on her shoulders and two blurry faces appeared. She blinked, shook her head, and coughed again, drawing in a deep, gasping breath.

The faces came into focus and she saw that the Doctor was crouched in front of her, Alexa just a bit behind him. Steadying herself against the Doctor, she pushed herself to her feet. “I’m f—f— _fine._ ” She drew in another deep breath, and another hacking cough pushed its way out.

She reached out a hand, groping for the nearest thing she could find, and her fingers found some kind of shelf. She gripped it as hard as she could, shivering.

“I’m fine,” she said again.

It was almost as if she were convincing herself.

She shivered again, leaning against the shelf to keep from sliding to the floor—questioning her decision to stand. Something soft and a bit heavy was draped around her shoulders and she looked up to see the Doctor—and he wasn’t wearing his long tan coat.

“It’s sopping wet too but it’s the best thing we’ve got.” He gripped her arm as she swayed. He nearly caught her. She stiffened, forcing herself to stand on her own. Every muscle in her body felt weak and shaky and she was just beginning to realize she had a raging headache.

A hand gripped her arm and she had only just realized that Alexa was tugging her forward when she stopped in the corner of—wherever they were—and gently guided her to the ground. 

“Sit,” she ordered. “And put on that coat.” 

Rey sat, slipping her arms through the arms of the coat. The sleeves were too long and the entire thing felt more like a too-big robe than a coat. She pulled it closer about her and shivered—it was _wet._

Alexa plopped down beside her and slipped her arm around her shoulders. “Sorry about the general wet-ness of everything, but, well…” She gestured towards the fountain and shrugged. “You know. Also. Never do that again. I thought you were _dead._ ”

“Wait.” Another hacking cough. She rested her head in her hands, pushing back a wave of dizziness and drawing in a deep breath. The last thing she remembered…. “How did we get out of that?”

Alexa stifled a giggle. “The fountain,” she said.

“Yep!” The Doctor grinned. “Just came bursting out of the fountain like a trio of mermaids.”

“So…” She eyed the fountain. “So they—let us go?”

“Oh—sorry. Sonic screwdriver. It does everything.” He shook the device and water drops flew in all directions. “Found an underwater setting—which was a bit hard to do if you’re actually underwater, so good luck to me if I ever try to do _that_ again—and it found the fountain. I think we startled the water things, they’re not used to resistance—or sonic screwdrivers. And now—seems we’re in some kind of storeroom. Full of….” His voice trailed off and he looked around. “Bottles of water?”

Rey looked up, seeing her surroundings for the first time. The room was a half-circle and she sat in the corner, the walls curving away from her. Shelves stretched upward until they were almost out of sight, filled with bottle after bottle of aquamarine swirls.

She caught her breath.

“Where is this place?” she said softy.

“Now that _is_ strange.” The Doctor pulled a bottle from the nearest shelf and turned it over in his fingers, staring hard at it. “Who keeps a room full of bottles of water? Water samples? Some kind of—oh. Oooh. Look at _that._ ”

Alexa’s eyes widened and she jumped to her feet, tripping over to the Doctor and standing on tiptoe to peer over his shoulder. After a long moment, she shook her head.

“I’m….going to assume you saw something in there,” she said.

“It’s a document! Made of _water!_ ” He whirled and shoved the bottle in her face, and she jumped backwards. “See those swirls and bubbles? They were placed there _very_ precisely. This is how the water things _read!_ ” He slipped his glasses on and a grin spread across his face. “A library. We’re standing in an alien library!”

Carefully, Rey lifted a bottle from the ground-level shelf at her side. She turned it over in her fingers, staring at it. Swirls and bubbles were trapped inside like a single wave captured in a moment of time. She let out a little gasp as, suddenly, she realized that she could _read_ it, the words and images and ideas as clear as if she were reading them from a holo-screen.

_The language of water._

She narrowed her eyes and stared at it. She shouldn’t be able to read it. She had taught herself a few different alien languages, but _certainly_ not a language made of water. It would have been totally useless on Jakku. She looked up. 

“Doctor—how can I read this?” She held up the bottle. “I shouldn’t…”

“Oh! TARDIS translation circuit. Gets inside your head, translates everything for you. Which, I suppose,” he added, turning to Alexa, “would explain why you couldn’t read it.”

Alexa just stared at him.

“I’m just….not going to question things anymore,” she said, a little weakly.

“Wait….the TARDIS is inside my head? Like some kind of telepathic…” She shook her head, staring at the bottle. She remembered the nanotransmitters with their eerie signals and the way they seemed to probe around in her thoughts. Wouldn’t she _know?_

She reached for another bottle, turning it absently over in her fingers. Could she read all of them, then? Anything she picked up? She shook the bottle and watched as it settled back into position, and—wait. Was there _paper_ floating inside of it?

She stared harder into the aquamarine depths of the bottle, which glimmered like sunlight on the surface of the sea. Yes, bits of paper floated inside it, caught in the sea foam, as if it had once been some kind of physical document. 

_On the twenty-third day of August._ The words seemed to come from the bottle itself, forming in her mind and leaving no doubt that they had come from the swirling water-language inside. 

Her eyes widened. A _journal?_

The image of an island floated in her mind, seen as if from above. A half-built tower of white stone rose from the center of it, and it seemed barely large enough for a house. _The island is expanding like a roaring wildfire._ The words were as clear in her mind as if they had been written on paper. She saw the island again, larger now, the tower finished, new and shiny-white. A man walked along the seashore, a boy at his side. _Someday, Alastor, this will be all yours. Rule it well._

The king? No—the man she saw was not the king, but he certainly bore a great resemblance to him, with his dark grey eyes that hid secrets in their depths and his confident gait, like a man destined to rule nations. _Someday this will all be yours…_

_Alastor?_

Was it—the king? The boy who walked along the beach beside his father, was he the haughty king they had just met?

She caught her breath. A journal, hidden in a corner, converted, perhaps, by the watery spirits…

The journal of the former king?

She turned the bottle over in her fingers. Images and words and ideas flashed by and she stopped quickly, trying to catch a hold of them. _A man walking along a shore—but somehow she knew it wasn’t the island. It was the same man, the former king, but he was younger now, his dark hair without a trace of grey and no crown resting on his head. The waves lapped at his feet as he stared out over the waters—_

And then there were words again, floating through her mind as if carried on the waves. _As I stood there, I thought that I saw a strange sort of ship, or some sort of device, floating in the waves approaching me._ Images now— _a shiny metal cylinder, polished by the waves, nearly as tall as the man himself, washed up onto the shore._ Words—time had passed, somehow she knew that, many days— _I have discovered that the strange object I discovered can grow what could be land—I have been blessed mightily._

Years of experiments played through her mind like a hologram played in fast motion, and then—

She looked up with a start to see the Doctor standing over her, one eyebrow raised. She jumped to her feet and shoved the bottle into his hands, grinning suddenly. 

“Look at this!” she cried. “It’s a journal—it’s the former _king’s_ journal!”

“Oooh.” He took the bottle and stared at it for a long moment, a slow grin spreading over his face. “Oooh—Rey, you genius. This island’s being _grown!_ ” He whirled, nearly knocking her over as he began to pace. “There is currently a core somewhere in this tower, pumping out _island_. And—look at that! He’s had contact with these water things— _they whispered to me the secrets of the device with which they had blessed me—_ they _taught_ him! Now, the question is, why?” He skidded to a stop, looking between Rey and Alexa. 

“It’s best to just let him babble,” Rey whispered in Alexa’s ear with a slight smile.

“Why? Why would they come to earth, dump their tech here, and teach someone to grow it into an extremely prosperous island? I’d like to think it’s because they’re benevolent beings who wanted to expand human flourishing, but we’ve seen evidence that _that’s_ not the case.” He narrowed his eyes. “Considering they just tried to kill us. So the fertility of the soil—or rather, not-soil—must be some kind of side effect. They need this island—they’re growing it for _them._ So they can use it for—something. Some kind of…”

Something tickled at the back of Rey’s mind and she reached for her staff before she could stop herself. _The door._ She turned, her heart pounding in her chest, and—

“Doctor,” she hissed. “We’ve got company.” 


	8. Chapter 7

The king stood in the doorway, his dark gaze fixed on the three of them like the muzzle of a charging blaster.

All three heads turned his way.

The Doctor gave a little four-finger wave. “Hello,” he said lightly. “We met your fountain.”

The king just stared at them, his face an impassive mask. For a moment, Rey thought she saw something flickering behind his eyes—something he was trying very, very hard to hide. But then it was gone and he was striding into the room, his red cape fluttering behind him.

“You should not be here.” His voice was hard and clipped. “No one returns from the realm of the watery spirits.”

“Yep—came out of your fountain after they so politely tried to kill us.” He flipped his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, twirling it in his fingers. “Sonic screwdriver. Very good at finding fountains.”

“You babble without meaning,” the king snapped. “What manner of man can return from the realm of the watery spirits unscathed and whole?”

“Oooh, see, that’s where you’ve got me wrong.” He raised an eyebrow, and, sticking his hands in his pockets, sauntered up to the king. “See, you think I’m human. I’m not.” His gaze darkened. “I’m the last of the Time Lords. And I’m not so easily killed as you may think.”

“So you raise yourself to be one with the gods?” He circled around the Doctor and the Doctor followed him, their gazes locked like two tigers ready to spring at each other at any moment. “You claim to be the Lord of Time? Is this why the girl…” His eyes swept over Rey and she felt a shiver race up her spine. “Is this why the girl claims to be a prophetess?”

“I’m _Rey._ And I’m not—”

“Oh, but she is. The Time Lord and the prophetess—we travel together through the fabric of time and space. She can predict the future of this island in a single word, and so can I.” He stopped, drawing the king to a stop as if they were tied with a rope. “Because we’ve seen it.” His voice was low, sharp as a knife-blade. “I think you don’t know who you’re messing with, your majesty.”

“I have seen many who claim to be blessed with powers beyond those of mankind.” The king’s voice was dark. “And not many of them have been truthful.” His eyes snapped to Rey and she sucked in a sharp breath and forced herself to meet his gaze steadily. “If the girl can tell me one thing—just one thing—I will believe her.” He paused. His face betrayed nothing. “And you will go free on the promise that you tell no one what happened here.” 

His gaze bored into her and she tried not to cower away, not to huddle up and stumble backwards at its force. The image of the dalek flashed through her mind, with its mechanical voice and its cold blue eye. She saw herself, staring down through its depths and into its soul—seeing the conflict—the self-loathing—the _loneliness._

“My name is known by only one person on this island—me. In all those who have claimed to have the power of prophecy, not a single one has known it. So tell me, prophetess.” There was a sneer in his voice. “What is my name?”

And then it all came into focus, like a pair of binoculars clicking into place, and suddenly—everything made sense.

“You’re lonely, Alastor.” She stepped forward, meeting his gaze and forcing herself past its dark barrier. “Lonely, longing for a friend. For someone who loves you. The lonely prince, raised to be the lonely king. Always wondering if your father really loved you.” She stepped forward, her gaze locked onto his. _The dalek, its secrets buried deep in its soul…._ “Do you call the watery spirits your friends, Alastor? Do you—”

For a moment, the mask cracked and his eyes bore the look of a frightened little boy. “Prophetess…” The word seemed to slip out before he could stop it.

“They’re killers. Your friends are killers!” The words came out in a rush of hot tears. “They nearly tried to kill us and they took Elias—I can only hope he didn’t suffer the same fate! You don’t even see, do you? You don’t see the destruction—the heartbreak—the broken families—all because you wanted to be as good as your father! You wanted to rule with an iron hand, like he did! You thought being a king would replace your need to be a person, so you suppressed the truth!” The worlds tumbled out over each other and she stepped closer, their gazes locked. “You _know_ they’re killers. You _know_ what happened to all those people. They didn’t go to some _land of the watery spirits._ They _drowned._ ”

A sudden silence seemed to swallow up the room. He took a stumbling step backwards—and their gazes broke.

And the mask returned.

“Leave my presence,” he snapped. “This was not what we agreed upon. Leave. _Now!_ ”

“But is it _true_?” The Doctor stepped in front of him, forcing him to a stop. “Did she tell you the truth? Then our deal still stands. We go free.” 

“No one leaves the tower.” He turned away, his expression hooded. “No one returns from the land of the watery spirits.”

The Doctor shrugged and nodded towards the fountain. “Like I said, sonic screwdriver. Very good at finding fountains. Speaking of fountains…” He took a step backward, his eyes fixed on the tinkling water. Rey followed his gaze—and her hand flew to her staff. “Speaking of fountains, yours seems to be a bit active just now.” He took another step backward. “I would suggest we run.” He looked at the king, who stood, his face impassive as he watched the water bubble and hiss. “You too,” he said. “Run!”

There was no response.

“Oh, _right._ ” The Doctor’s gaze was dark as he stared at the king. “You don’t need to. Because you’re their _friend._ ”

The king didn’t reply, didn’t even look in the Doctor direction. With a few stumbling steps, he was in front of the fountain, dropping to his knees before it.

The water hissed, slippery tentacles swirling from the fountain. Alexa stood frozen, staring wide-eyed at it.

Rey grabbed her by the arm and dragged her forward—and then they were running, their footsteps echoing off the walls. They burst out into the sunlight and clattered onto the bridge, the pounding of their feet hollow on the wooden floor. Rey pushed herself forward, her breath coming in short gasps as they flew across the arching bridge and tumbling into the golden woods—weaving through the trees, light and shadow flashing by them—and fell out on the other side, the island stretching out before them, peaceful and quiet in the late-afternoon sunlight.

Rey stumbled forward and found herself sitting on the ground with a hard thump, gasping. “I don’t think they’ll follow us this far,” she managed. “I think we’re—where’s the king? Did he come? Doctor, we left him—Doctor?” She jumped to her feet, tugging Alexa with her. “Where did he go? Doctor—”

She turned to see Alexa giving her a little lopsided smirk. “He went flying off towards the danger the minute we got out.”

“Oh, of _course_ he did.” She sighed. “Well, we might as well follow him. What danger did you mean?”

She nodded towards the houses. “The next canal.”

“Oh, right. Water.” With a little sigh, she grabbed Alexa by the arm and started forward. “He’s probably going to interrogate them now that he knows they grew the island. And I’m guessing he didn’t want us to follow.”

Alexa shot her a grin. “Well, we’re following.”

Rey smiled. “Right. He’s going to run from one danger to the other, I’m not letting him face it alone.”

Soon the houses were behind them and they could hear the bustling hum of the marketplace in the distance. The canal loomed up before them, bridges arching high over the water—and just as Alexa had said, there was the Doctor, and he was staring into the waves. 

He turned, and Rey felt her stomach drop.

Something was wrong.

She was at the foot of the bridge in an instant, Alexa just behind her. The girl skidded to a stop, staring into the canal, her eyes wide.

“No! No….” The word trailed off into a sob and she stumbled to her knees, catching herself on the edge of the canal.

A body floated in the water.

The body of a dark-haired boy. 


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve officially run out of creative things to say in author’s notes, so I’m just going to stop, lol.

Rey dropped to her knees beside the boy, smoothing his soaked hair from his face. His eyes were closed and his wrists were clasped behind him with crude handcuffs—the same handcuffs that had been clasped around her own wrists. He hadn’t moved or opened his eyes or struggled when they had tugged him from the water, and now he lay limply under the shadow of the arching bridge.

Still. Perfectly, horribly still.

Dread settled in her stomach like fluttering darkness. She pressed her hand against his chest, searching desperately for a heartbeat. She felt her own pulse throbbing her ears, nearly drowning out the lap of water against the shore, and her fingers trembled as she moved them to his wrist.

She knew what she would find—knew, with a horrible, heavy certainty—as she slipped her fingers beneath the handcuffs and felt desperately for a pulse.

Nothing.

“No. No—it’s not him.” Alexa’s voice cut through the fog and Rey started and looked up to see her taking a few stumbling steps backwards. “It can’t be him.” Her voice was tinged with desperation, wild, mad desperation. “Not my brother.” She took another step backwards, her eyes glued to his still form. “Not Elias. Not—you promised.” She turned to the Doctor, her face flaming. “You promised! You promised we’d find him! You promised we’d save him! You—”

Rey jumped to her feet, staring out over the water, her fists balled at her sides. “You killed him!” She took a stumbling step towards the water. “You _killed_ him! He was just a boy! He was just—”

And then the Doctor was bounding up onto the bridge, skidding to a stop at its highest point. 

“I demand to speak to the watery spirits! You will face me for this!” His words echoed down the canal. “You made me break a promise.” His voice cut the air, low and sharp as a knife. “And I take my promises seriously.” 

For a moment there was silence, his words hanging in the air, growing until they seemed to fill the entire island and press against the edges of the canal. 

Rey slipped her arms around Elias’s body, dragging him back, away from the water. She didn’t know why, didn’t know what prompted her to do it, she only knew that somehow, she needed to protect him.

And then the water began to bubble and hiss. 

Rey stumbled backwards as a creature rose from the canal, ghostlike and horrible. Its form dripped waves and foam and its eyes were empty holes of swirling water. It seemed to draw from the water itself, moving forward like a floating spirit—the sound of water swirling like lashing rain—until it stood before the Doctor, swirling upwards to the level of the high, arching bridge.

Alexa and Rey fell into each other and stumbled backwards together, Alexa staring open-mouthed and wide-eyed, Rey’s cry of surprise catching in her throat.

“Why did you kill him?” The Doctor’s voice was lanced with fury to match the raging waves, and his hands gripped the guardrail as he faced the creature. “Tell me the truth!”

“WHO ARE YOU.” The voice was huge, roaring like sea-storms and thunder, like a thousand voices speaking as one. Rey took another stumbling step backwards, wanting nothing more than to run, to flee from the swirling terror that stood facing the Doctor. She could feel Alexa’s panic radiating from her like a surging wave, threatening to engulf her.

“I’m the Doctor.” His eyes were dark and his voice sliced the waves like a knife. “And you have destroyed an innocent soul.”

“HE COULD NOT LIVE.” The form rushed upward like a fountain. “HE HAD DISCOVERED US!”

“Why are you so afraid? Why—ooh, that’s it, isn’t it. You’re afraid! You’re afraid of the people! So, so afraid that you made cells specifically for anyone who had seen you, innocent people who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. You watched and listened for any hint that you’d been discovered—spurting out of fountains, watching, always watching—making certain that not a single person would escape your surveillance! Why?” The dark anger had faded to a twinkling curiosity, and if he could have paced along the bridge, he would have. “There’s got to be some _reason._ Some weakness—”

Rey felt her breath catch in her throat. “Doctor, no—” The water rushed forward across the bridge and swirled over him—

And retreated with a sharp hiss.

And the Doctor stood alone on the bridge, holding up a single match. 

For a moment he just stared at it, a slow grin spreading across his face. And then he was off across the bridge, running towards them, lighting another match as he went. “That’s it!” he shouted, skidding to a stop in front of them. “Fire! They’re afraid of fire! It dissolves them into _mist!_ And the minute the people knew—come on! Allons-y!” In a moment he had whirled and was dashing off towards the bridge, the match still flickering in his fingers. “To the marketplace! Sound the alarm—”

Rey grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him back. “Doctor—no. There’s only one person on this island they’ll listen to.” She looked up at him, her voice set with determination. “If we’re going to start a rebellion, we need to start with the king.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww I kinda liked Elias. Why am I such a mean author. :P


	10. Chapter 9

They burst through the door of the tower and flew down the hallway, the echo of their steps pounding off the walls. Skidding to a stop in front of the door to the library, Alexa grabbed the handle and threw it open, dashing inside.

The king stood, a bottle in his hands, staring into it, his gaze dark and hard.

Alexa smacked the bottle from his hands and it fell to the floor with a crash, rolling to a stop in the doorway. “You _murderer!”_ She raised her hand as if to slap the king, and then lowered it. “You killed him! You killed my brother! You absolute—”

He whirled, rage flaring across his face. “You lie!” he roared, taking a single step towards her, his shadow seeming to swallow her up. “You little—who are you to touch me, to speak to me! You are an enemy of the watery spirits! You liar! You— _peasant._ ”

“Liar?” Her voice was so hot it could have sliced metal. “Tell that to the _dead body_ that’s laying by the canal.”

He stumbled backwards as if he had been slapped. “No—you’re lying.” It was as if he was desperate to cling to the words—as if saying them enough, with enough passion, would make them true. “There cannot be a body. They cannot—they are not killers.”

“You want proof?” She closed her hand around his wrist and yanked him forward. “Well, _come with me._ You’re going to have proof, and you’re going to listen you—you _killer._ ”

Rey reached forward. “Alexa—please—”

The Doctor caught her hand and pulled her back. “No,” he said, and his voice was low. “Let her. Let her show him. He needs to see.”

Rey looked away.

And her eyes landed on the bottle, which had rolled nearly to her feet.

For a moment she stared at it, and then, taking a slow step forward, she lifted it from the ground. The sound of footsteps faded down the corridor as she turned it over in her fingers, slow realization of what she was seeing dawning on her and making her eyes go wide.

It was a schematic. 

A schematic of something shiny, silver, cylindrical—

The core. This was a schematic of the core of the island itself. The thing that grew the ground beneath her feet. 

Her fingers tightened on the bottle and she felt her pulse pounding in her ears. Why had the king been reading it? Did he know the language of the watery spirits? Did he know how the island worked?

How many secrets did he hold?

She stared into the bottle. The whorls and spirals of water formed themselves into images in her mind. She still wasn’t sure she understood how it worked but—well—it was handy. So she’d keep it for the moment.

She was afraid that if she really tried, really thought about it, she _could_ resist it. Eject it from her mind like the messages of the nanotransmitters and the psychic paper. 

_You’re a genius, Rey…_

She shook the thought from her mind and forced herself to focus on the bottle. The diagram plunged into the core like a hologram zooming in. It was simple—some sort of manufacturing device which then pumped out material—the soil that formed the island. With a whoosh that sent her head spinning, it zoomed out again, out, out, out, until she saw the core from above, floating in a vast mass of water. Like a time-lapse record, she saw as the core pumped out more and more material until it formed a mass of land, which grew, faster and faster, until—

She sucked in a sharp breath. What was this? The image—some sort of simulation, she guessed—zoomed in and she saw that the soil was bubbling, watery creatures emerging from it like a flock of tiny creatures hatching from their eggs.

_Hatching._

She shook the bottle, staring harder. No—no. Her mind refused to acknowledge what she was seeing. Hatching— _spawning material._ The words formed themselves in her mind as clearly as if they had been written with paper and ink. 

She nearly dropped the bottle, stumbling backwards, her gaze riveted on the images inside. The creatures leaped through the sea like dolphins, trailing their spawning material behind them, planting it on another land mass, and another—she watched it spread, until every continent was converted—

For a moment she just stood there, trying to process what she had just seen—trying to understand—

And then it all registered with a force that nearly knocked her backwards, and she was running, the bottle clutched in her hands. The Doctor—she had to find the Doctor.

* * *

“Look, _your majesty._ ” Alexa’s eyes burned with white-hot fire as she stared up at the king. “Or should I even call you that? Do you even deserve the title?”

“No one— _no one_ —returns from the realm of the watery spirits.” He stepped forward, placing his hand on Elias’s shoulder as if the sight of a human was strange to him. His voice had a strange, strangled quality to it. “My father told me. They have told me. _No one returns._ ”

“ _Returned?_ You call this _returning?_ You absolute _monster—_ ”

“Alexa.” The Doctor set a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him for a moment, her face flaming—and then she crumpled, her head buried in her hands. A sob hitched in her throat and she slipped forward, burying her head against Elias’s chest.

“Look what you’ve done to her.” The Doctor fixed the king with a steady, hard gaze. “You’ve killed her brother—and you’ve killed her too. I know what it feels like to lose your family. It feels like dying. But oh, you didn’t know, did you?” He circled the king, his gaze never leaving him. “You just thought they took their prisoners to some utopian world under the sea, did you? Well, your majesty. Let me teach you something about humans.” He stopped, stepping closer. “They can’t survive under the water.” For a long moment he paused, letting the words bury themselves in the king. “And you think they didn’t know that? You think these godlike creatures that fell from the sky didn’t know what they were doing? And you know what else they knew? They knew you’re not a killer.”

Alexa looked up, her face tear-stained, her voice hot. “Doctor!”

“Ooh, I’m right, aren’t I? I can see it in your eyes. You’re no killer. You haven’t got it in you. You want to know why that tower is so tall, why they hid their cells at the very top? So the people couldn’t hear their screams.” His gaze seemed to pierce the king’s soul. “So you couldn’t hear their screams.”

The king turned away, his face hooded, staring out over the houses that spread across the island. The Doctor stepped closer, his voice softer now, his gaze just as piercing.

“They’ll listen to you. The people. Just say the word, and they’ll turn against the creatures. They respect you, Alastor.”

“No!” He turned, his eyes flashing dark. “They do not respect me! They fear me! As well they should.” He turned to the canal and took a stumbling step forward. “Strike me down for my folly,” he said, and his voice wavered. “Take me, not my people.”

“No!” The Doctor grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to turn. “Listen—will you just listen? A single word from you and they’ll ride out in force against the creatures. Don’t you understand? Don’t you _see_? You can sit here moping about what a horrible person you are—or you can _do_ something! We can do this _together—_ ”

The king looked up, and something flashed across his face—something certain, and something dark. And then it was gone, and he turned away again. “Doctor—”

“Doctor!” A voice echoed across the sand and the Doctor whirled to see Rey flying towards them, a bottle clutched in her hand. She skidded to a stop in front of him and shoved it into his hands. “Doctor—the island—spawning ground—growing—for them—” Her breath came in short gasps. “That bottle—schematic—”

He whipped on his glasses and stared at the bottle. His eyes widened and he stared at it, his fingers clenching around it. “Oh. Oooh. That’s bad. That’s very bad.” He looked up, the bottle in his hands. “I will speak with—” He began, but cut himself off. “That’ll never work,” he muttered, and then he whirled towards the canal, holding the bottle forward. “Look at me, I’ve discovered your little secret! And you know, I might just consider telling it to every single person on this island. You want to stop me, you’re going to have to come and get it!”

Rey drew in a sharp breath. _Doctor!_ Of all the crazy schemes—

A creature swirled from the surface of the canal, and rushed towards the Doctor. He dodged backwards at the last minute, tossing the bottle behind him and letting it roll along the ground. It bumped into Rey’s feet and she reached down and snatched it, gripping it so tightly she thought she would smash the glass. 

“I knew you’d listen to _that_!” The Doctor sauntered forward, his hands in his pockets and his gaze fixed on the creature. “Now that you’ve fallen so nicely for my little delusion, I’d like to have a little talk with you. A business talk, as it were. Wherever your home planet is, I can get you back. You don’t have to be stuck here—”

“WE HAVE NO HOME PLANET.” The voice seemed to come from all parts of the creature, like booming, crashing waves. “WE TRAVEL AND SPAWN UPON WATERY PLANETS SUCH AS THIS. THIS PLANET WILL BE OURS. WE CANNOT BE STOPPED.”

“You’re nothing but _squatters!_ Planet squatters! Now, that’s really rather clever when you think about it. But _cannot be stopped?_ That sounds suspiciously like a challenge.” He pulled the matchbook from his coat pocket. “And there’s obviously something you’ve never learned.” He struck the match and faced the creature, the tiny flame flickering between his fingers. “Never challenge the Doctor. Because the Doctor will always accept!”

Something jolted beneath her feet and Rey started and looked down. Water bubbled from the ground and swirled about her feet.

A little gasp caught in her throat. 

“Doctor—the spawning process—it’s—”

And over the beach there roared a sound like a thousand thunderstorms. Alexa stumbled backwards with a little cry, clutching Rey by the arm and clinging on. The canal exploded into a mass of swirling water and foam as more creatures rose from the waves, shooting upward like fountains, roaring and billowing.

And _laughing._


	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I may have gotten a bit of inspiration from The Fires of Pompeii, why do you ask? ;)

The screen of trees loomed up before them once again and the four of them skidded to a stop, breathing hard. The ground squished beneath their feet and Rey was afraid to stand still for too long lest she sink into it like quicksand.

“The matches aren’t going to be enough to get us across that bridge.” The Doctor glanced around at the group. “Sooner or later they’ve got to realize that they can put it out. We need something—”

“Like a torch?” Alexa nodded back towards the houses that now lay behind them. “Every one of those houses has them. And not every one of those houses has people in them, not at this time of day. It’d be easy—”

The Doctor grinned. “Alexa, I like the way you think! You should come with us, you know. When this is all over. I could show you other worlds. Other _times._ ” He gave her a little half-grin. “What’d’you say? A trip or two in the TARDIS?”

For a moment she just stared at him, then jerked her head towards the houses. “Doctor. Torches—”

“His timing is never very good,” Rey said dryly. “You’ll learn this soon enough. Now—Doctor. The matches.” He tossed her the matchbook and she struck one, the little flame flickering between her fingers. “I’ll cover for you, Alexa. Go!”

“Rey—no.” The Doctor grabbed her hand, pulling her back. “You can’t risk yourself—”

She just stared at him, long and hard, and he stop talking. “I said _I’ll cover,_ ” she snapped. “Now get to cover, you and—” She paused. “You and Alastor.”

For a long moment he just looked at her, standing there with a little match held tightly between her fingers, and then he was running, disappearing behind the shielding barrier of the trees, the king just behind him. 

She could feel the water seeping into her shoes, her feet squishing into the ground beneath her. She paced, holding the match in front of her like a blaster ready to shoot, scanning the area for any sources of water—any fountains—none, none that she could see—or, well, none that could see her.

Suddenly the match flame seemed very, very small.

A splash made her whirl and she shoved the match forward just as it flickered out, its ashy tip falling from her fingers. Fumbling wildly for the matchbook, she scanned the area in a flash of a second—and saw Alexa approaching, splashing through the bubbling ground, two torches in her hand.

She stopped in front of Rey and burst out laughing.

Rey stared at her.

“Look, I know—everything about this whole situation is kind of bad right now, but you do realize you looked rather ridiculous, holding that thing out like a weapon?”

Rey felt herself smirking, just a little. Yeah—it must have looked a little silly.

Alexa shoved a torch into her hand and sprinted off towards the woods, and Rey was after her in an instant. A sudden idea seared through her mind and she skidded to a stop, leaning down and brushing the torch across the top of the water that bubble from the ground.

It retreated with a hiss.

“It works! Just wanted to test it.” And she was off after Alexa again, crashing through into the woods and skidding to a stop in front of the Doctor and the king, their torches flickering wildly off the leaves and branches above them. The king stood, staring off through the trees, his face in shadow, and the Doctor paced, fiddling with his sonic screwdriver, stopping and looking up at their approach.

“We’ve got them,” Alexa gasped out. “I don’t think they know we’re here yet. Take our advantage. Go!”

Rey shot a look at the Doctor and their eyes met—and then they were off, bursting out of the woods and thundering across the bridge like a herd of horses, the torches blazing in their hands, the tower shooting up into the sky above them. The water foamed and roiled beneath them, drops splattering onto the bridge at their feet, spitting and spraying tentacles reaching up—and then retreating, hissing, at the sight of the torches that flickered orange off the shiny-wet bridge.

They dashed off of the bridge and clambered through the tower door. Rey kicked the door closed behind her and leaned against it, breathing hard.

For a moment, they all just looked at each other.

“The core!” The Doctor turned to the king. “You know where it is. Show me!”

The king nodded, quickly and sharply. And Rey realized that he hadn’t said a word since they’d seen the bottle.

He had followed them, watching them with his dark gaze—always watching. She pressed herself against the door, suddenly wanting to get as far away from him as possible. Something dark seemed to surround him like a cloud—like a spreading shadow.

Something was forming behind that dark gaze of his.

Something that scared her.

He turned to her with a snap and her hand flew to her staff before she could stop it—and closed on nothing.

“The torch,” he said. “Give it to me.”

For a moment she just stood there, her fingers tightening around the torch. Was he going to shove it into the wall, ignite a fire that would burn down the whole tower with them inside? She forced herself to take a deep breath. That was _stupid._ He wouldn’t do that. He didn’t have it in him—

But still—

He could escape, leaving them all to die….and the watery spirits would be his friends again. 

Keeping her eyes fixed on him, she kept herself planted firmly in front of the door. She could take him. She could—

“Rey?” She started at the Doctor’s voice and turned to see him looking at her. “What—”

“Nothing,” she said quickly, shaking her head and shoving the torch in the king’s hand. It wouldn’t do to betray her suspicion so blatantly. “I’m fine. Let’s go. Allons-y!” The word slipped out before she realized it and she looked at the Doctor and managed a little, shaky smile.

The king turned and started off down the corridor. The torchlight flickered wildly off of the white walls, and reflected in his eyes, giving the appearance of some kind of demon hiding within a man’s form. 

The tower was silent. Utterly silent but for the sound of their footsteps echoing off the walls.

Too silent.

He was leading them into the hands of the guards again. He was taking them back up to the cell again, where they would be drowned for good and there was nothing they could do about it. He was—a thousand ideas flashed through her mind at once, and she scanned for doors, for anywhere she might dart into and hide. They needed some tools, something they could use to escape, incapacitate the king the minute he turned on them—

She longed for the familiarity of her staff between her fingers.

His steps slowed and she tensed, glancing back at the Doctor and Alexa. Alexa had a torch, there had to be something she could do with that. Did they know? Did they see—

His fingers closed around the door knob and he swung it open with a creak that seemed to echo throughout the whole tower.

“Here it is.” His voice was hard. He motioned them into a small room, barely big enough for the four of them. A device was planted in the center, a cylindrical object of gleaming metal, a throbbing hum radiating from it. “The core of the island.” Something about his voice unsettled her. It was strange. Wrong. “My father’s gift from the gods.” The words were bitter. “Some gift.”

Everything seemed to move slowly. The seconds ticked like minutes as the Doctor pulled the schematic bottle from his coat pocket and slipped on his glasses, looking up at the core and back down at the bottle.

And then the bottle fell to the floor, pieces of smashed glass flying up like twinkling diamonds as he dashed toward the core.

“No—no. Oh, you’ve got to be kidding.” He smacked the core and whirled to the king. “Did you know?” He strode forward, catching him by the collar and shoving him back against the wall. “Tell me, _did you know?_ ”

“Yes, I knew! Of course I knew.” His voice was bitter. “I knew everything, Doctor.” He wormed out of the Doctor’s grip and stood tall before him. “Do you think my father didn’t do a few strategic tests before he set out to grow an entire island? He knew from the minute he planted it, from the minute the first homes were built, that there was no going back. That the core must be protected at all costs. He knew—” 

“What did you know?” Rey leaped forward. If she had had her staff she would be pointing it at him. “Tell me! _What do you know?_ ”

For a moment the king said nothing, and she turned to the Doctor. “He’s been planning this all along! I saw it in his eyes!” The words wouldn’t stop. She knew she was being stupid, that she should just stop and let him speak, but they came tumbling out like spilled sand. “I felt it, Doctor. I felt it from the minute we stepped inside this tower. I—”

“The island will die.” The king’s words seemed to stop time and he turned to her, his eyes hard. “If the core is turned off, the island will shrivel and sink into the sea.”

She froze. “Doctor—”

“It’s true.” His lips were set in a thin line and he gazed darkly at the machine. “He’s telling the truth. There’s no other way.” He looked at her, his face unreadable, a dark mask. “This is the life of the Doctor, Rey. These are the decisions I have to make, every day.” He smacked the machine, turning away. “We sink Atlantis, or the water creatures make the earth their own,” he muttered. “And the course of time itself is altered.” 


	12. Chapter 11

“The decision’s not yours, Doctor.” Alastor turned. “I am the king of this island, and I will decide whether it lives or dies.” His voice was hard. “Now go. Leave. Now.”

And then, with a sudden, horrible certainty, Rey knew what the king had been planning.

She had been wrong. She had been so, so wrong. It wasn’t their deaths he had been planning. 

It was his own. 

She clenched her fists at her sides. He wasn’t a killer. She should have known that. He had _known._ He had known what had to be done, known the decision he had to make, and the horrible certainty of it had radiated from him like darkness.

She was suddenly very sorry for her dire suspicions. 

“No—your majesty—no.” She stepped forward, placing a hand on his arm before she could stop herself. “Your majesty, please—”

“No. It is my decision, and mine alone. I will flip this switch, and I will sink the great kingdom of Atlantis.” His voice wavered and he forced it into submission. “It will be my first and last good deed.” He turned to the core, the torch clutched in his hands. “Now go. Save as many as you can.” His voice took on the hard authority of the king once more. “Get them to the boats as fast as you can. I’ll set this island alight with a blaze that will send the watery spirits to their graves.”

“No! No no no.” The Doctor dropped to a crouch by the core, scanning the sonic screwdriver wildly over it. “No, I can’t let you do that. There’s got to be another way. You’ll—”

“I _know._ ” The king set a hand on the Doctor’s shoulder. His voice broke. “Save my people, Doctor. Do for them what I couldn’t do for them myself. That’s all I ask of you.”

For a moment the Doctor looked at him, and then he stood, slipping the sonic screwdriver back into his pocket. 

“You’re saving them now,” he said quietly. “And the world with them.” He squeezed the king’s arm, and Rey thought she saw tears glistening in his eyes before he turned away. “Run,” he said, softly. “Run. Now!”

And then they were out the door and across the bridge, tumbling to a stop in the forest, glowing with early evening sunlight. So calm—so peaceful. And in a few moments, it would all disappear beneath the ocean, taking the homes and the market and the brightly colored flowers with it. 

_The lost city of Atlantis._

For a moment Rey just stood there, looking at the sunlight lancing through the trees, at the giant, old trunks, the green leaves. This was the last time anyone would ever stand here—the last time the wind would whisper through these leaves.

The Doctor stood, his face a mask. 

She swallowed back a catch in her throat and turned away. “Well—at least we can save the people,” she said softly. 

“It’s a fixed point, Rey.” The Doctor turned towards her, and his eyes held the same swirling darkness, full of memory and strange secrets, that they had held when he spoke of the dalek. “ _The lost city of Atlantis._ The island has to sink, to turn to legend, or time itself will change and collapse under the weight of the paradox.” His voice was low. “There’s nothing I can do.”

“But the people!” She faced him, her voice red-hot, her fists clenched. “You as good as _promised_ Alastor! Are you just going to let him—”

“Oh. Oooh.” He whirled, his face changing in an instant. “You’re right! How could I be so _stupid?_ ” A sudden grin twinkled across his face. “Rey, you’re a genius! The people! We can save the people! It’s only a fixed point that _island_ disappears, the fates of everyone on it are unrecorded!” He had grabbed her about the waist and whirled her in a circle before she could even let out a gasp of surprise, setting her down with a little thump and taking off through the trees, leaving her gasping in surprise. “Rey—Alexa—come on! Allons-y! We’ve got an island to save!”

For a moment Alexa hesitated, staring wide-eyed at the Doctor, her gaze stormy with fear. “You know the future,” she said in a small voice. “You know—do I die here? Doctor, do I—”

Rey reached out and squeezed her hand. “Alexa—you won’t die. I promise.” She looked at the Doctor. “Right, Doctor?”

But he was already nearly out of their sight. Rey shot a little smile at Alexa and then they were running after him, bursting out of the woods and splashing across the squelching, bubbling ground—the houses flying past them, the chaos of the marketplace growing louder and louder as they approached.

Soon, they began to hear voices in the crowd—panicked voices, angry voices, voices shouting about how they had angered the gods, how they angered the watery spirits, how their doom was at hand. Desperate shouts, cries, sobs. 

Alexa and Rey skidded to a stop at the edge of the churning mass of people, staring wide-eyed at the chaos that had overtaken the island and its people.

And then a voice boomed across the marketplace, and the chaos dampened.

Alexa’s hand flew to her mouth and she looked at Rey, wide-eyed and almost giggling, then toward the source of the voice again. Rey followed her gaze, not sure what she was expecting, and—oh.

Of _course._

The Doctor stood on a rooftop, his sonic screwdriver held to his mouth like a microphone. “Everyone,” he said again, and cleared his throat. “Ooh, always wanted to do this. Attention everyone! I have orders from the king! Get to the ships, now!”

Whispers rippled through the crowd, some curious, some doubting. “Who are you to speak?” said a voice, and another shouted, “You’re just a stranger! Why should we believe you?”

“The fact that the island is currently collapsing beneath your feet isn’t a tiny bit of a sign, there? And I have orders from the king!”

“Then let the king come himself and give us his orders! I’ll not take orders from a stranger!”

“Who’s to say he didn’t cause this? He’s strange enough as it is.”

“The king can stop this! He speaks to the gods—beg him to speak for us!”

The Doctor cleared his throat again. “Everyone—” Rey could feel him searching for the words, for just the right thing to say the calm the chaos which was swiftly spreading across the marketplace again. 

And then thumping of soldiers marching in unison filled the marketplace, and silence fell.

Every head turned as the king’s guards—the whole battalion of them—marched into view, their red capes whipping and snapping in the wind which had risen swiftly, their boots coming down with heavy stomps that seemed to shake even the squelching ground.

“We bring orders from the king.” The leader’s voice seemed to fill the entire island. “You are to flee to the ships as soon as possible.”

The Doctor shrugged and nodded in their direction. “Yeah,” he said. “Listen to them.”

And then the crowd was moving—shouting, crying, screaming, but moving inexorably towards the ports. Rey felt them moving past her like flowing water and tried to push against them, looking this way and that for the Doctor—Alexa? She tried not to reach for her staff—she was caught in the crowd, the people pressing around her like a crushing wave, the ground foaming and bubbling at her feet. Someone grabbed her hand and pulled her forward and she let out a little cry of frustration, pulling away—

It was the Doctor, and Alexa was at his side.

“Come on—to the TARDIS—now!” He started through the crowd, tugging her forward.

She pulled him to a stop, turning back. “Alexa?”

She just stood there, the people pushing past her like crashing waves. Her eyes were misty as she stared at the crying, shouting crowd—and at the Doctor and Rey.

“Alexa—come on.” Rey stepped forward, holding out a hand. “We’ve got to—”

“You’re not—” The Doctor looked at her, realization dawning on his face. “Oh. You’re not coming with us.” There was a finality to his voice, a horrible finality that brought a catch to Rey’s breath—because she knew he was _right._

Alexa wasn’t coming.

“I can’t.” Her voice was lanced with tears. “My parents—I’m all they’ve got left.” She looked between Rey and the Doctor, and the stormy fear that had swirled in her eyes earlier never seemed to have left. “You two—who are you? Deciding the fates of civilizations, speaking of the future like you’ve seen it? I think….I think I’m not meant to get caught up with you. Like you’re ghosts, who’ll flicker out the minute the people are saved. And you’ll make me one, too.” She took a few hesitating steps forward as the people moved past them, the crowd began to thin. The shouting of the guards echoed over the marketplace and, it seemed, the whole island. “You scare me. You scare me to death. And I think traveling with you—I think it’d kill me. Is it too much—too much to ask that you—remember me?” She looked as if she were working up the courage for— _something—_ and then she had rushed forward and thrown her arms around Rey, nearly knocking her backwards. “I’ll miss you,” she said softly, burying her head in Rey’s shoulder for a long moment. “Even if you are a prophetess, you were my _friend._ ”

And then she had stepped back and before Rey could say a word, before she could reach forward and pull her back, she had disappeared into the crowd, her bright pink dress blending into the blur of colors—and she was gone.

For a moment Rey just stood there, her fists clenched at her sides. Was this what it was like, traveling with the Doctor? Passing through lives like ghosts? Watching worlds rise and empires burn and then stepping back into the mists of time like immortal beings of old?

Maybe Alexa was right. Maybe it would have killed her.

_You were my friend._

She swallowed back a catch in her throat and looked up at the Doctor. “We should go,” she said, softly.

“Right.” His hand closed around hers, and their eyes met. “Let’s go, then.”

And then they were off. Pushing their way across the squelching ground, the water pooling and bubbling beneath their feet, they left the crowd behind, their shouts turning to echoes behind them. They ran past market stalls and homes—the foundations already beginning to crumble as the ground writhed and bubbled about them—and into the sea grasses, which waved like a living thing waking from slumber. The front of the TARDIS loomed up before them and the crashing of the waves mingled with the echoes of the crowd as they dashed towards it—grasping each other’s hands like a lifeline.

For a moment Rey paused, looking back over the island. A blur of colors still flowed towards the ports, and she saw a ship taking off, cutting through the waves like a knife-blade, its sails puffing in the stormy sea-wind.

_Now. Now’s the time…_

“Come on, Alastor,” the Doctor muttered. “You can do it. Throw the switch.”

Any minute now, and the watery spirits would notice….they would focus their attack on the ships, and the people would go screaming into the deep….

A wave crashed onto the beach and slammed into the back of the TARDIS, and they were off again, water sloshing about their feet as the waves along the beach rose to meet the flood that washed over the island, the water rising about the foot of the blue box.

_It’s a fixed point…._

_A fixed point…_

The Doctor reached forward, his fingers closing around the handle of the TARDIS doors. He tugged, pulling against the pressing force of the water that was now rising swiftly around them. Rey threw herself forward, adding her weight to his.

The doors didn’t move.

And for a moment, she thought she heard the water swirling about her feet, whispering like it was already alive—like the thousands of creatures that had been growing inside it for years had already spawned and were ready to leap from the waves like creatures of the deep.

* * *

The torchlight flickered off of the walls and formed rippling patterns of orange in the shiny silver of the core. The only sound in the little room was the crackling of the fire and the king’s own breathing—and his heart thumping in his chest.

Beneath his feet, he thought he could feel the floor shaking.

Any minute now.

Any minute now, and his father’s spirits would destroy the kingdom he had worked so hard to build.

He took a step towards the core, the torch clutched in his hand. He knew what he had to do. The core would pump the fire through the island like it had pumped out the island itself, all these years. If the people had listened to his guards, they would be streaming toward the ships now, ready to take off as the island sunk beneath them.

Silence. Echoing silence.

He wished he could hear.

Wished he could hear his people, one last time.

The floor seemed to wobble beneath his feet, and for a moment it seemed he could feel the entire tower swaying, ready to collapse into the ocean.

He took a deep breath and stood, his head held high like the king he was.

And he plunged the torch into the core. 


	13. Chapter 12

With a giant heave, the doors of the TARDIS flew open and they fell forward into the console, water rushing in after them like a swiftly rising flood. Rey kicked the door closed behind her and just leaned against it for a moment, closing her eyes, her breath coming in short gasps. 

She was sopping wet.

The Doctor bounced to his feet in an instant, rushing to the console and slamming a few levers—rather loudly. Light pulsed through the TARDIS core and the familiar _vwoorp_ sound filled the room. 

Rey got to her feet, slowly, a little shakily. BB8 bumped at her ankles like a friendly kitten, looking up at her with happy beep.

“And we have liftoff!” The Doctor whirled towards her. “And we’re going down.”

She stared at him, his words refusing to register. “Down—”

“You think I was just going to let the king go down with the rest of the island? No, we’re going down and we’re going to grab him just before it goes. No one else dies today. Not on my watch.” The light faded out and the whirring came to a standstill—and the Doctor dashed past her, throwing the doors open.

And skidded to a stop, stumbling backwards and nearly running into her.

They hung in the sky, the island spreading out before them, bubbling and writhing. 

“She won’t go down!” he cried, dashing wildly back to the console. “She’s not letting me! Rey—”

“Doctor—no.” Rey set a hand on his arm and pulled him gently from the console. “Look—”

The tower rose from the center of the island like a giant white needle, wobbling as if it would crash onto its side at any minute. A giant flame burst from its tip and shot skyward, and then began to spread from its base and take off across the island like a wildfire run amuck. The tower went up in flames and collapsed in on itself, the water hissing and turning to mist beneath it. The blazing fury of the flames seemed to be propelled by the core itself, turning the land and the houses and the trees swiftly to charred ashes. And then—like twinkling stardust—it fell beneath the ocean, the waves washing over it.

The remnants of a few houses floated on the empty ocean—that was all.

Rey leaned out over the edge of the TARDIS, watching the ships cut their way through the water like tiny insects. The shouts of the people, their cries and screams, echoed up to the skies. She stared at the ships—as if she could find Alexa, a tiny speck of a person amongst the blur of color. 

Had she made it?

She felt a presence at her side and looked up to see the Doctor, staring out over the empty ocean.

“So this is how ends,” he said, and his voice was low. “The lost city of Atlantis.”

* * *

The gentle hum of chatter echoed down the hallway of the museum as the Doctor and Rey strolled along, stopping every so often to peer at an exhibit or make some comment about how they had gotten it horribly wrong—those comments were made mostly by the Doctor, and usually accompanied by a grin and some random bit of a story that he promised to tell more of later. 

_You wanted a timeline? There you go—the whole building’s a timeline. Museum of world history,_ the Doctor had said as they had stepped in the door. And here they were, strolling through the hallways like cultured visitors.

The thought made her smile.

They had just reached a section titled _Ancient Greece—_ the Doctor had told her this was about the time Atlantis had existed—when a small room caught her attention, the lights inside low, cases of old documents spaced around the walls. The sign overhead read _New Exhibit._ She shot a glance—and a little grin—back at the Doctor and stepped inside, stopping at the first display and peering into it.

“Fragment of an ancient document.” The Doctor’s voice behind her made her turn, and he stood staring over her shoulder, peering through his glasses. “Found in the ruins of what was presumed to be the home of a family of aristocrats off the coast of the Mediterranean. While it has not been translated fully, it is presumed to be a page from some sort of diary…”

She blinked and stared at the old, yellowed document, the words hovering and wavering in front of her eyes. She could _read_ it. The TARDIS translation circuit—she could _read_ it!

 _Sometimes I still dream of life on the island._ The words formed in her head and she caught her breath. It was wild, impossible, it couldn’t be, but— _and my brother. And—and the day the island died, and the two strangers who hurtled into my life like messengers from the gods. Who were they? I do wonder if I’ll ever see her again—the prophetess, Rey. She—_

The words cut off, torn off at the edges of the paper. Her hand flew to her mouth and she stared at the Doctor, wide-eyed. 

“She survived,” she said softly. “She survived. And—and she—”

_She remembered me._

“Prophetess Rey, written into the history of another universe.” The Doctor grinned at her, his eyes shining. “After all of that, I think you deserve this.” Reaching into his pocket, he drew out small, simple key, dangling on the end of a chain. “TARDIS key. Welcome aboard, prophetess Rey.” He placed the key in her hand, and the metal was cool against her palm. She looked up at him, her eyes shining. “Where shall we go next?” 

* * *

_The End_


End file.
